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Senior Citizen Alert
Hundreds Arrested in Mass-Marketing Fraud Targeting
Senior Citizens
“Operation Global Con” initiative grabs 565 on
three continents
May 24, 2006 - More than 565 people in North and
South America and Europe have been arrested as part of “Operation Global
Con” – the largest and most far-reaching multinational enforcement
operation ever directed at mass-marketing fraud schemes, but, like most
of the rest, senior citizens were one of their chief targets, the
Department of Justice announced today.
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The ongoing action began on March 1, 2005, and
involved unprecedented coordination by law enforcement agencies at the
national and international levels.
“Operation Global Con” targeted
mass-marketing schemes that were international in scope and impact, were
conducted by criminal groups, and generated significant proceeds. The
schemes were carried out through various methods, such as telemarketing,
the Internet and mass mailings.
The wide variety of schemes uncovered
during the operation included so-called “419" advance-fee schemes;
foreign currency trading; bogus lottery, prize and sweepstakes schemes;
offers of nonexistent investments; bogus offers of “pre-approved” credit
cards or credit-card protection; and tax fraud schemes.
The 96 separate
U.S. investigations in this operation led to the discovery of more than
2.8 million victims, who suffered losses totaling more than $1 billion.
“Mass-marketing fraudsters think they can use
modern technology to operate from anywhere in the world with impunity,”
said Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales. “The virtual task forces that
we have built with Canada, Costa Rica and the Netherlands provide a new
model for us to bring these international con artists to justice.”
The operation resulted in the arrest of 139
individuals in the United States, and an additional 426 arrests in
Canada, Costa Rica, the Netherlands and Spain. Authorities executed 447
search warrants in the five countries as part of the operation, and 61
individuals have been convicted in the United States to date.
In
addition, the Federal Trade Commission brought 20 civil actions against
140 defendants in illegal fraud schemes. “The FTC is proud of its
mission to protect American consumers from fraud, and the actions we are
announcing demonstrate that our commitment is strong no matter where the
fraudulent activity takes place,” said Deborah Platt Majoras, Chairman
of the Federal Trade Commission.
“Operation Global Con is a reversal of fortune for
international swindlers who exploit those who can least afford to bear
the loss – including older Americans, the disabled and others who are
disadvantaged in our communities. This effective partnership model
harnesses the collective strength of world-class resources –
prosecutors, law enforcement, regulators and international authorities –
to demolish a formidable barrier to combating international crime,” said
Chief Postal Inspector Lee R. Heath of the U.S. Postal Inspection
Service.
“Today, we have demonstrated there is no distance great enough
to evade the long arm of the law.”
“Mass marketing fraud is an international crime
problem that predominantly victimizes elderly U.S. citizens. Through our
Legal Attache Offices located around the globe, the FBI is uniquely
positioned to address this problem,” said FBI Assistant Director, James
H. Burrus, Jr., Criminal Investigative Division.
“The results of this
international collaborative initiative send a serious message to con
artists who believe that they can commit these fraud schemes from afar.”
“The best defense against these types of scams is
public awareness. U.S. citizens need to know that federal agents don’t
call asking for money or asking for money to be sent somewhere. That’s
not how we do business,” said Julie L. Myers, Assistant Secretary for
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “I would also add that if a
sales pitch over the phone sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
As part of Operation Global Con, Costa Rican
agents, acting in cooperation with U.S. Postal Inspectors and agents of
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Commerce
Inspector General, just last week conducted a series of arrests and
searches in Costa Rica that targeted significant mass-marketing fraud
“boiler room” operations.
These operations used Internet-based telephony
and mobile phones to contact prospective victims in the United States,
purporting to be from nonexistent organizations such as the “Sweepstakes
Security Commission,” to offer nonexistent sweepstakes winnings of as
much as $4.5 million. Victims were expected, in return, to pay
“insurance fees” for the alleged “benefit” of Lloyds of London. Some
victims who made the payments would then be recontacted by participants
in the schemes, who pretended to be Costa Rican or U.S. customs
authorities demanding payment of additional “customs fees” or taxes.
Operation Global Con’s success in targeting
international telemarketing fraud schemes depended heavily on the
creation of long-term partnerships between U.S. and foreign enforcement
agencies, says the Justice Department news release.
For example, authorities in Costa Rica played a critical role
in last week’s arrest of nine alleged participants in the sweepstakes
schemes. In the Netherlands, the Amsterdam Police and the Dutch Public
Prosecutor provided close cooperation with the Postal Inspection Service
in an investigation that led to the arrests of 11 individuals. In Spain,
FBI agents and Postal Inspectors investigating fraudulent lottery
schemes that operate from Spain worked closely with Spanish National
Police, which made 310 arrests and conducted numerous searches.
In
Canada, U.S. investigators worked with six multi-agency task forces that
target telemarketing fraud – including Project COLT in Montreal, the
Toronto and Alberta Strategic Partnerships, and Project Emptor in
Vancouver and the Vancouver Strategic Partnership; and the Atlantic
Provinces Strategic Partnership. Other foreign authorities provided
similar assistance in various fraud cases, including the United
Kingdom’s New Scotland Yard and Office of Fair Trading and the Nigerian
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Operation Global Con involved coordination among 30
U.S. Attorneys’ offices nationwide, the Fraud Section of the Criminal
Division and the Tax Division of the Department of Justice, 20 of the
FBI’s 56 field divisions, 13 of the Postal Inspection Service’s 18 field
divisions, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of State’s
Diplomatic Security Service, and the Department of Commerce Office of
Inspector General, together with the Competition Bureau of Industry
Canada, IRS Criminal Investigation, the PhoneBusters National Call
Center in Canada, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and numerous other federal,
state, local and foreign law enforcement and regulatory agencies.
Victims of Internet fraud schemes should file complaints online with the
Internet Crime Complaint Center, a joint project of the FBI and the
National White Collar Crime Center, at www.ic3.gov. Victims of
telemarketing fraud should contact the Federal Trade Commission’s
Consumer Sentinel, either by calling the FTC’s toll-free number,
1-877-987-3728, or by filing an online form available through its
website, www.ftc.gov. Victims of Canadian-based telemarketing schemes
may also contact PhoneBusters at 1-888-495-8501 or www.phonebusters.com.
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