TO CATCH A CYBER
THIEF
FBI Agent Talks
About His Travels to Distant Shores to Stop Internet Scams
04/04/05
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Agent
Miskell with Nigerian prosecutor
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Supervisory
Special Agent Dale Miskell: "During every arrest, we
drew huge crowds—people wondering what was going on and why a
U.S. law enforcement officer was there." Last spring, Agent
Miskell had quite an adventure when he was invited to Nigeria in western
Africa to help authorities there track down cyber con artists who were
preying on U.S. consumers and businesses through "reshipping" scams. Dale: "Many
American retailers don't ship online products overseas because of fraud.
So organized crime groups overseas came up with a clever ruse. They order
online goods using stolen or fake credit cards. Then, they have the packages
sent to unwitting citizens in this country, who then rewrap and reship
the items overseas." Thousands of U.S.
citizens have been unknowingly recruited into these scams. Dale: "These
criminals often befriend singles through online chat rooms. They typically
romance them by sending gifts and flowers. Then, they sell them a sad
story about hardships in Nigeria and how hard it is to get packages.
You see where it's going. Other times, they set up fake "work-at-home" offers
on the Internet and trick people into sending them packages as part of
their jobs." Dale took the
lead in fighting these scams while working at the Internet
Crime Complaint Center, or IC3—a partnership between the
FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center. Dale: "A
few years back, I got a call from our Legal Attaché agent in Lagos.
He told me the Nigerian government was concerned by these kinds of scams
and had created the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to fight
them. In 2003, three agents and I were invited there to teach enhanced
cyber skills to Nigerian law enforcement. Last spring, I was asked back
to work with them to help track down the criminals." Every afternoon,
Dale joined Nigerian authorities in checking for suspicious parcels. Dale: "I'd
send an e-mail to my colleagues at IC3 with the names and addresses on
dubious packages. By morning I'd have an e-mail back with a list of the
ones suspected of fraud. Then, we'd pay a visit to the addressee. A Nigerian
officer would pose as a parcel company driver and would make the delivery
and subsequent arrest, with several Nigerian officers and I in my suburban
as backup." With Dale's help,
the Nigerians made 17 arrests and seized $1 million worth of illegally
purchased goods—effectively taking down the international reshipping
ring. In January, Dale returned for the prosecutions and became the
first U.S. law enforcement officer to testify in Nigerian court. Last
month, the Merchant Risk Council—a non-profit group devoted to
fighting cyber fraud—named Dale its first "Law Enforcement
Officer of the Year" for his efforts. Today, he continues his
work as a cyber agent in Alabama. Links: FBI
Cyber Investigations | Report Online
Fraud
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