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FBI Reports Nationwide Internet Fraud Crackdown23 May 2001WASHINGTON – May 23, 2001 – As reported by Reuters: ``A major crackdown on Web-based fraud has broken up pyramid schemes, phony "Beanie Bay" auctions and other Internet scams that had cheated 56,000 people out of more than $117 million, U.S. law enforcers said on Wednesday. ``A total of 88 people have been charged and 62 arrested in the operation code-named "Cyber Loss" involving 61 separate federal, state and local investigations, the FBI and Justice Department announced. ``…The alleged scams included online auctions of such things as Beanie Baby dolls and computer games that fleeced 200 people out of a total of $20,000 without delivering, FBI officials said. ``On the high end of alleged damages was a San Diego, California-based operation, where 39 people were indicted for taking in as much as $50 million over three years for selling undelivered Internet services and sham high-tech investments, said Ruben Garcia, assistant director of the FBI's criminal investigation division. ``Another alleged scam cheated 48,000 people out of $295 apiece to set up nonexistent electronic "stores" in an online mall for a $14 million haul, he said. ``Efforts were under way to return the ill-gotten gains to the victims, law enforcement officials said. ``Attorney General John Ashcroft urged victims of Web fraud to submit details of their cases to the complaint center at www.ifccfbi.gov…" |