FBI agents have lately been targeting perpetrators for alleged cyber crime schemes. Recently agents arrested eight individuals in South Florida and Atlanta who are claimed to have been involved in an international ring. An FBI task force has been said to be working with banking and credit card operations in Florida to eliminate what they claim is a multibillion-dollar issue in the United States.
A number of individuals arrested worked for a call center where they were accused of gaining access to account information and customer IDs. Some of these individuals allegedly sold stolen information to other individuals in an effort to cash-in by fraudulently making a number of cellphone insurance claims. The defendants are charged with aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit computer fraud.
The task force involved more than just FBI agents, however. It also involved officers with the Miami-Dade Police Department, Miami Police Department, Davie Police Department, Hialeah Police Department, Bal Harbour Police Department, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Division of Insurance Fraud. That such a large number of law enforcement officers are involved in an investigation indicates how seriously the determination is to prosecute these purported crimes.
Though computer crimes may seem like a relatively new area we can expect authorities to prosecute individuals arrested for these crimes in the future. Those charged will likely require representation from attorneys who have experience in this area of law. Besides requiring an attorney who understands computer forensics, clients will require representation from individuals capable of taking on city, county, state and even federal officials.
Source: Miami Herald, "New FBI task force rounds up eight cyber suspects," Jay Weaver, June 3, 2014
