Investigation of the Crime That Comes within the Scope and Ambit of Cyber Crimes - Assignment Example

Cyber Crime Mock Police Report Part 1: Mock Police Report Particulars of the Case - Vital Information Name: Address: Indianapolis, IN 46254 Phone: Type of incident: Cyber fraud in hoax Automobile purchase deal Professed name of fraud perpetrator: Mr. Jack Arnold Date and time of incident: The fraud occurred when a check of $ 30,000 issued by the internet auto purchaser, Jack Arnold, towards cost of Volkswagen automobile, $27,000 and freight and forwarding costs $ 3000, (total check for $30,000) returned unpaid from the bank. The dishonor by bank occurred on March 24, 2010 at 11.00 PM. But, according to the victim, before this date and time, at the request of the buyer, the refund of freight and forwarding costs of $3000 claimed by the buyer was returned to him vide Wire Transfer 3456675 dated; February 20, 2010 thru Wells Fargo Bank. Officer’s name: Detective Tom Lepisky Suspect Information: Only the website and bank account number in which the victim paid $3000 is available. The victim claims that these are fake illegal accounts used for perpetrating frauds of these genres for duping unsuspecting victims and was not aware of this at the time of entering the transaction with the party. Witness Information: Manager of the Wells Fargo Bank, NYC has provided statement of the returned checks due to the lack of funds in this account. Evidence Collected: (1) Cover of FedEx Courier FDX NYC 3452908 dt. 08.02. 2010 (2).Bounced check 45890 dt.07.02.2010 issued for $30,000 drawn on Global City Bank, no city code. signature illegible. The victim claims that this is a dupe check which cannot be traced to any bank (3) Printout of alleged internet contract agreement between buyer, Mr. Jack Arnold and seller, Mr. John Wainwright. Website Offered by purchaser: www.autosdealers.com Email address of purchaser: jackarnold.autodealers.co.in Report Number: CR: DTL: 2010: 06789 dated March 25, 2010 signed by Det. Tom Lepisky and victim, Mr. John Wainwright. Particulars of the Case - Narrative According to the victim under the above mentioned case docketed under Report Number: CR: DTL: 2010: 06789 dated March 25, 2010, the victim, Mr. John Waiwright is in the business of automobile buying and selling since year 2000. One such order he picked up was that of this internet buyer, allegedly going by the name of Jack Arnold. While taking up this order in the ordinary course of his business, he had scant idea about how he could be defrauded by this slick and smart operator. Perhaps the victim did not play safe. “Do not transfer the title until you have payment in hand at the agreed upon price.” (Fraud awareness tips: Common-sense advice for sellers, n.d, para.14). According to the victim, by placing good faith and trust on the buyer; he accepted the check of $30,000 which was inclusive of freight and forwarding $3000, received vide above the mentioned check number. It normally takes around 30-45 days for out country checks to be credited to one’s account and the depositor had no cause for worry, except that the signature of the drawer was illegible and it did not have a city code name or bank number. However, on February 10, 2010, he received a frantic call from the buyer stating that he had overpaid the bill by $3000, since freight charges were payable after the transaction was through. The victim assured him that the dispatch would be made in due course, but the buyer refused to accept any justification and wanted the refund immediately. The victim, did not want to lose out on this business and sent the refund of $3000 through Wire Transfer on February 20, 2010. However, to his horror; the victim found that the check for $30,000 has bounced and there was no trace of the buyer. This being a cyber related offence, comes strictly within the scope and ambit of Cyber Crimes and internet Frauds. “Consumers are advised to do as much due diligence as possible before engaging in transactions to purchase vehicles advertised online. Consumers are also cautioned to be aware of the rules of or warnings posted by the Internet sites they visit. If someone is asking you as a consumer to break or avoid the rules of the website, it is possible that person is trying to scam you.” (Investigative programs cyber investigations: Fake military twist on vehicle sale scams, 2009, para.20). The victim has no other details, except perhaps the website, email and name of perpetrator, all of which he now believes to be false and fraud oriented. The victim wished that the law enforcement will trace this person and recovers the amount with cast. Part 2: The following are the names of the institutions that have been contacted for redressal of this cyber automobile internet fraud to the tune of $3000. The following institutions have been contacted for following up this case: 1. The Indiana State Attorney General’s Consumer Complaints Office Office of the Indiana Attorney General 302 W. Washington St., 5th Floor Indianapolis, IN 46204 Phones: 800-382-5516 or 317-232-6330. Contact person: Mr. Greg Zoeller. 2. Federal Bureau of Investigation, 575 N. Pennsylvania St., Rm. 679 Indianapolis, IN 46204 Phone: (317) 639-3301 Contact person: Mr. Michael Welch Besides the above, it is also proposed to take up this matter with a special cyber crime center called the Internet Crime Complaint Center. “The IC3 is co-sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C). Complaints filed via this website are processed and may be referred to federal, state, local or international law enforcement or regulatory agencies for possible investigation.” (File a complaint, n.d, para.4). Part 3: Research Report This complaint would also be lodged with the IC3, preferably at Indiana. The complaint form would be filled up and details of the internet crime, along with a copy of the police FIR would also be forwarded to the IC3. Any further details that may be required by IC3 would also be provided to them, including the complainant’s own telephone contact numbers. Under normal circumstances, the IC3 would appoint an investigator to look into the case and report about the developments from time to time. This investigator would have access to global cyber anti-criminal networks, including the FBI and the Indiana State Attorney General’s Consumer Complaints Office. For one thing, solid evidence to build a cyber case against a suspect is needed, often at the risk of defamation suit and for another, the suspect need to be proved guilty of this crime beyond reasonable doubt by the use of unassailable evidence against him/her. Both were prospected by any stretch of imagination. To begin with, “Identity of the perpetrators would need to be established. To establish identity, the detectives would need to trace their Internet access. This would require them to first obtain the IP address used for the e-mail. At this point they would need to determine, from the appropriate Internet service provider (ISP), who was assigned that IP address.” (Cyber forensics and the changing face of investigating criminal behavior, 2007, p.302). For local, domestic and national purposes; this may be easy, but may not be if the fraud was initiated in another country. Besides, it would be necessary for investigators to fly out into these countries, examine suspects ( if caught) and have them extradited to the US to face trial for cyber crimes against the US citizens, perhaps in violation of third country specific laws. All this involves a great deal of efforts, time and costs. This may need the help of international law enforcement agencies and country specific police forces of the country in which the fraud was initiated and it needs to be proved, beyond reasonable doubt that the cyber crime or “criminal activity that takes place through, or directly with cyberspace.” has been committed on the victim, and he has, as a consequence, suffered economic losses to the tune of $3000. (Flook, 2009, para.17). Part 4: Victim Letter Dear Mr. Wainwright, Ref: Police Report Number: CR: DTL: 2010: 06789 dated March 25, 2010 filed at Indiana police station – Cyber crime fraud case. We have forwarded your above cited case details to The Internet Crime Complaint Center for further investigations and are awaiting their report in this case. Our investigators shall work in tandem with IC3 and its co-sponsoring agencies, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and National White Collar Crime Center. We are hopeful that we would be able to bring the perpetrator to justice and provide economic restitution for your losses. Meanwhile, we also seek your co-operation through provision of necessary evidence and information whenever needed, to help us solve this case within the least possible time. Thanking you, Cordially Reference List Cyber forensics and the changing face of investigating criminal behavior. (2007). Retrieved July 8, 2010, from http://www.infosectoday.com/Articles/Cyber_Forensics.pdf File a complaint. (n.d). Internet Crime Compliant Center. Retrieved July 8, 2010, from http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx Flook, K. (2009). Russia and the cyber threat. Critical Threats. Retrieved July 8, 2010, from http://www.criticalthreats.org/russia/russia-and-cyber-threat Fraud awareness tips: Common-sense advice for sellers. (n.d). Auto Trader.Com. Retrieved July 8, 2010, from http://www.autotrader.com/research/shared/article_popup.jsp?article_id=12124#20842-460 Investigative programs cyber investigations: Fake military twist on vehicle sale scams. (2009). Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved July 8, 2010, from http://www.fbi.gov/cyberinvest/escams.htm Read More