Indiana State Police report Internet scams for 2007

Every year, people fall victim to Internet scams in the hope of getting some kind of reward or extra cash, and recent reports from the Indiana State Police show the Bloomington area is no exception.\nTrooper Cameron McCreary of the Indiana State Police Versailles Post recently investigated two Internet scams, one involving a 21-year-old male from Vevay, who got an e-mail regarding work as a “payment assistant,” according to an Indiana State Police news release. The second involved an e-mail about a dog for sale.\nSgt. Curt Durnil, public information officer and recruiter for the Indiana State Police, said in cases of Internet scams, there is not a lot the police can do. Since the majority of Internet scams come from around the country, he said, the lines of jurisdiction cross from county to county and state to state, which makes it difficult for law enforcement to establish its case.\n“Even though (officers) are all under the same federal constitution, different states have different laws that require different aspects of a case to establish probable cause,” Durnil said.\nChris Soghoian, Ph.D. student in the IU department of Informatics, said one of the most popular scams is commonly known as the “Nigerian 419,” an “advance fee fraud” scheme he said has been in existence through regular postal mail for more than 20 years. In almost all cases, Soghoian said, the e-mails appear to come from someone in an African country claiming to have large amounts of money that are trapped or frozen.\nWith this scam, the criminal promises to give the person a percent of the money for helping get the money out of the country, when in reality they are going to steal from the victims’ account, Soghoian said.\nSoghoian said most scams are sent through e-mail and in the future may come by telephone as well. He said the vast majority of scams are created by people outside the U.S., where wages are significantly lower than they are here, and the risk of getting caught is significantly lower.\n“These scams promise everything and deliver nothing,” Soghoian said.\nSoghoian said these criminals can get anyone’s e-mail address if the address is listed as public, such as when a student has his or her e-mail address on their Web page or on Facebook. Criminals use programs that can go around the net looking for e-mail addresses they can send these scams to, he said.\nWhen people report a scam, Durnil said, an investigating officer will immediately guide victims through what they need to do to stop the criminal’s damage. He said this involves shutting down credit or debit cards by reporting to the company or financial institution that the card has been stolen or compromised. He said people would go through the same process if their Social Security number was stolen or compromised.\n“The financial companies then work with law enforcement to bring the suspects to justice,” Durnil said. “The financial companies can provide paper trails and possibly video tapes of the suspects attempting to use the cards or numbers.”\nDurnil said there are ways to identify an Internet scam before becoming the victim of one. He said that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. In addition, consumers can contact the Better Business Bureau, the Attorney General’s office or others who might already be involved with the Internet business in question.\n“It is your money; handle it with care,” Durnil said. “Doing research and asking questions is a major part of the process.”\nFor more information, visit www.ustreas.gov/usss.