Internet and Computer Fraud

White Collar Crime Unit
The Department of the Prosecuting Attorney's White Collar Crime Unit prosecutes traditional economic crimes such as theft, forgery, credit card fraud, and identity theft. It also prosecutes a variety of high-tech computer crimes, including computer fraud, computer damage, and unauthorized computer access crimes.

White Collar Inquiries
The White Collar Crime Unit receives frequent inquiries from the public about internet and computer fraud. Some inquiries turn out to be civil matters rather than criminal matters. Civil matters are referred elsewhere for resolution. Criminal matters are investigated by a team of skilled investigators who prepare cases for prosecution by the deputies of the White Collar Crime Unit. They aggressively pursue criminals suspected of computer crimes and have an excellent track record for seeking restitution when possible.

Prevention
It is far easier to prevent computer crime than it is to prosecute it and secure restitution, and most victims will never fully recover all that they have lost. For this reason, the White Collar Crime Unit also focuses on Crime Prevention, providing computer safety information and extensive community outreach.

Protect yourself! Learn all that you can on the ways to prevent these types of computer-related scams.

Internet Fraud

Just as you should take caution with any phone calls or mail you receive about suspicious-sounding deals, you should do the same when you're online. Internet fraud can be found in chat rooms, e-mail, web sites and message boards. Listed below are the top ten online frauds for 2003, which cost each victim an average of $5271:

1. Online Auction Sites

Nearly 90 percent of Internet fraud was associated with online auction sites. These sites offer anything from high-value collectibles to computers. Generally you will send money for the item, but you will receive a lower-quality or lower-priced item, or nothing at all.

2. General Merchandise Sales

Sites that offer retail goods. Like the online auction sites, what you pay for may not be what you receive.

3. Nigerian Money Offers

Someone claiming to be a representative of the Nigerian (or any other country's) government asks you to help move millions of dollars of overpayments into overseas bank accounts. They ask for your bank account number, so they can transfer the money into your account temporarily and claim you will receive a percentage of the money for helping. In actuality, they drain your bank account.

4. Information / Adult Services

Web sites that offer music, pictures or games for download. Some downloads could contain viruses that can infect your computer, and some can charge your phone bill (if using a dial-up modem).

5. Internet Access Services

So-called "internet providers" that promise free or low-priced Internet access, free web page design or other Internet services, then do not deliver.

6. Computer Equipment and Software

Computer equipment and software that was paid for but was never delivered or was not what you ordered.

7. Work-At-Home Schemes

Business opportunities that claim you can make thousands of dollars a month working at home. These schemes usually require buying materials or information about the business. What you receive in return is inadequate materials or nothing at all.

8. Lotteries

False promises to help a consumer win money or collect on winnings from foreign lotteries.

9. Fake Checks

Consumers are paid with phony checks for products or services, with instructions to wire back some of the money to the offender.

10. Advance Fee Loans

Loan schemes that charge an up-front fee, and promise you will be approved for a loan regardless of your credit history.

Also be leery of online investment schemes. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, most likely it is too good to be true.

In Hawaii, Internet fraud can be prosecuted under traditional theft statutes. If the amount of the victim's loss exceeds $300.00, the suspect can face up to five-years in prison and a $10,000.00 fine. If the amount of the victim's loss exceeds $20,000.00, the suspect can face up to ten-years in prison and a $25,000.00 fine.

Computer Crimes

With the advent of the Internet, the phrases "computer tampering" and "network intrusions" (commonly known as "hacking" or "cracking") have taken on several new meanings. The Hawaii Penal Code has been updated to include the realm of cyberspace.

Breaking into someone's computer may seem like fun, but the consequences are not: Under Hawaii law, breaking into someone's computer and causing damage may result in a prison sentence of up to ten-years and a $25,000.00 fine. Merely accessing a computer and obtaining information could result in a prison sentence of up to ten-years and a $25,000.00 fine.

The Department of the Prosecuting Attorney takes computer-related crimes very seriously. As criminals have become more high-tech, so has law enforcement. The Department of the Prosecuting Attorney has access to considerable resources, including investigators trained in computer forensic examination who assist us with a criminal prosecution.

Telecommunication Fraud

The telecommunications industry is booming, as is the amount of fraud associated with it. Although there is no guaranteed fix to stop this type of fraud and abuse, some fraud can be prevented by adopting the following procedures, both at home and the office:

• Insist everyone use common sense when using the telephone.
• Catch problems early by reviewing your telephone bill immediately after your receive it.
• Question long calls, calls with high costs-per-minute or calls made late at night or after business hours.
• Monitor your total telecommunications usage/costs each month, and if there is a sudden increase, investigate it.
• If you receive a call about free cable television, free cellular phone, free long distance or any other telecommunications deal that sounds too good to be true, most likely it is too good to be true.
  

Prevention

"Spam Scam" – Spoofing You Out Of Personal Information

Consumers should be on the alert for sophisticated "spoof" e-mails that trick unwary and unsuspecting Internet users into giving personal information that can be used to drain bank accounts, fraudulently get credit cards and commit other crimes.

The scam is commonly called "spoofing" because the spam mail sent uses familiar or legitimate-sounding names of companies to gain personal information. This scam capitalizes on names that are close to the real one. In a recent example, instead of the real Earthlink.net, the spam mail used an URL like www.earthlinkservice.com. Small and large companies have been spoofed, such as Bank of America, Best Buy, PayPal and Ebay.

Consumers may be sent e-mails that seemingly come from a company with which they've done business or be sent by hyperlink to a phony web site - designed even to look like the legitimate business web site. One victim reported getting a seemingly authentic e-mail from what appeared to be his Internet Service Provider telling him his credit card had expired and new information was needed. He was asked to provide a credit card number and to give his bank account number and ATM PIN number.

Another name for "spoofing" is "phishing". In "phishing" scams, "phishers" send millions of bogus e-mails with the hope of luring victims to a fraudulent (or spoofed) website where the Internet user would then be tricked into divulging personal information, such as passwords, account numbers, or credit card information. According to Kiplinger's Magazine, up to five percent of e-mail recipients respond to phishing e-mails, leaving them vulnerable to credit card fraud and identity theft.