Training, Investigative Support and Research to Agencies and Entities Involved in the Prevention, Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and High-Tech Crime

WWW.NW3C.ORG 1 NW3C Board of Directors Chairman

Glen B. Gainer, III West Virginia State Auditor’s Office

Non-Regional Director Non-Regional Director

Attorney General Jim Hood Captain Bill Williams Mississippi Attorney General’s Office l Los Angeles (CA) Police Department Northeast Mountain

Christopher Cotta, Administrative Director Lieutenant Tom Jarvie Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General Green River (WY) Police Department

Great Lakes South Central

Major Larry Turner Assistant Attorney General Tom McCormick Indiana State Police Louisiana Department of Justice

Mid-Atlantic Southeast

Sheriff Michael Brown Captain Corbett Lewis Bedford County (VA) Sheriff’s Office South Carolina Law Enforcement Division

Midwest West

Detective Ken Nix Sean M. Rooney, Senior Enforcement Attorney Clayton (MO) Police Department 1 California Department of Corporations

The mission of the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) is to provide training, investigative support and research to agencies and entities involved in the prevention, investigation and prosecution of economic and high-tech crime. NW3C is a non-profit organization serving more than 4,000 member agencies in all 50 states, four U.S. territories and 15 countries. Membership in NW3C is free.

2 INFORMANT: SPRING/SUMMER 2012 Notes from the Director

NW3C Social Media oday more than 900 mil- Users of social media post a lion people have profiles on great deal of personal information The National White Collar Crime Center Facebook® and many more on social media sites. With the ad- Executive Staff Tare engaged on other social media vance in technology, such as smart- Don Brackman, Director sites like Twitter® and LinkedIn®. phones, that can be used anywhere Ken Brooks, Deputy Director The way we communicate with each at any time, criminals now have Dave Cummings, Deputy Director other has dramatically changed, many more opportunities to gather Mark Gage, Deputy Director and more people are living their personal information that can be Mary-Ellen Kendall, General Counsel lives in the public sphere. As such, used to commit fraud and identity Editorial Staff we have to start viewing social me- theft crimes against social media Kim Williams, Manager dia as a society. This society, like users. Law enforcement agencies Beth Singer, Senior Writer and Editor others, has elements that benefit ev- have recognized this trend and are Ty Bowers, Print and Multi-Media eryone as a whole, but it also has a determining how social media can Content Coordinator criminal element that is constantly best be used to further investiga- Lindsey Bousfield, Graphic Designer developing new methods for prey- tions and to develop evidence. Other Contributors ing on unsuspecting victims. NW3C is working closely with Nicole Stiles, Curriculum Developer Law enforcement agencies have our partners, such as the Interna- April Wall-Parker, Curriculum Developer been actively establishing a pres- tional Association of Chiefs of Po- Contact Us ence in social media and have de- lice and the Indiana State Police, to veloped innovative ways to commu- develop and deliver social media On the Internet: www.nw3c.org nicate and connect with the public training and other resources for law Member Services: 804-967-6210 by creating user-friendly tools for enforcement agencies. This edi- [email protected] public education and outreach, and tion of the Informant focuses on Investigative Support: 800-221-4424, soliciting tips and other informa- the success of agency social media ext. 3520 tion that is useful in investigations. programs and offers tips for law en- Training: 877-628-7674, ext. 2234 The public has embraced these new forcement in best practices for so- IC3: 800-251-3221 tools and provides law enforcement cial media programs and for using www.ic3.gov with information about crimes that social media in investigations. https://icsis.nw3c.org increases the effectiveness of agen- NW3C will continue to develop cies’ efforts to protect communities. and refine the social media-related This issue of the Informant provides training and resources that we of- some great examples of how social fer to law enforcement agencies to

Search: NationalWhiteCollarCrime media programs can create benefi- support their efforts to protect and cial partnerships between law en- serve their communities. forcement and the public. Don Brackman @NW3CNews Director, NW3C

This project was supported by Grant No. 2010-BE-BX-K023 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. The National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) is the copyright owner of this document. This information may not be used or reproduced in any form without express written permission of NW3C. For questions or additional information, please contact Kimberly Williams, Communications Manager at 1-800-221-4424, ext. 3320 or [email protected]. NW3CTM, IC3® and ICSISTM are trademarks of NW3C, Inc. and may not be used without written permission. © 2012. NW3C, Inc. d/b/a the National White Collar Crime Center. All rights reserved. Bureau of Justice Assistance U.S. Department of Justice

WWW.NW3C.ORG 3 Remembering Our Member Agency Fallen Heroes* December 2011 - March 2012

Trooper Sergeant Javier Arana, Jr. Michael May Texas Department of Public Safety, TX Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department, WV Deputy Sheriff Randall L. Benoit Deputy Sheriff Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office, LA Matt Miller Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, FL Deputy Sheriff William Coleman Deputy Sheriff Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, AZ Barbara Pill Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, FL Officer Garret Davis Trooper

r Honolulu Police Department, HI Tony Radulescu Washington State Patrol, WA Detective Peter Figoski Master Officer New York City Police Department, NY Scotty Richardson Aiken Department of Public Safety, SC Agent Jared Francom Officer Specialist Ogden Police Department, UT Timothy B. Schock Chesapeake Police Department, VA Officer Steven Green Senior Officer Mobile Police Department, AL Gail Thomas Atlanta Police Department, GA Officer Tracy Hardin Detective Nevada Department of Corrections, NV David White Clay County Sheriff’s Office, FL Officer Clifton Lewis Chicago Police Department, IL *Source www.odmp.org (as of 04/10/12)

“It is not how these officers died that made them heroes, it is how they lived.” - Vivian Eney Cross

4 INFORMANT: SPRING/SUMMER 2012 's Table of Contents Informant Spring/Summer 2012

6 Remembering Richard Johnston, Former NW3C Director and Pioneer in White Collar Crime Prevention

10 Microsoft and NW3C Join Forces to Combat Cyber Crime

14 Social Media

7 NIST Establishes National 24 Dallas Police Department Successfully Cybersecurity Center of Excellence Networks Via Social Media

8 LAPD Captain Bill Williams Appointed to 25 Internetaction: How Different Age NW3C Board of Directors Groups Are Interacting Online

9 NW3C Member Agency Highlights 26 Protecting Yourself in a Social Media-driven World 9 NW3C and IACP Social Media Training 27 Social Media Protection Tips 12 Success Stories & Highlights 28 Jan Lynn Owen Appointed as Commissioner 16 Real Crimes, Virtual Evidence of the California Department of Corporations

18 Breaking Down Social Media 29 Social Media: An Investigative Gold Mine

20 How Richmond (VA) Police Got Social (Media) 30 Internet Crime Complaint Center 3 22 IACP Social Media Website Proves to be (IC ) Alerts a Valuable Tool for Law Enforcement

Who We Are NW3C, a non-profit membership organization dedicated to supporting law enforcement in the prevention, investigation and prosecution of economic and high-tech crime, has been continuously funded through competitive grants for over three decades. NW3C’s membership consists of law enforcement agencies from all 50 states and four continents. WWW.NW3C.ORG 5 NW3C Members Remembering Richard Johnston, Former NW3C Director and Pioneer in White Collar Crime Prevention By Elizabeth Singer

“Dick was a visionary who worked to ensure the viability of NW3C, and he supported our membership. We will not only remember him for his work, but also as a compassionate person who will be greatly missed.” - NW3C Director Don Brackman

he law enforcement and legal his foresight we would not be where Deputy Director Mark Gage. “During communities lost a great part- we are today.” his time here, he envisioned many of ner, advocate and friend. For- Almost 20 years ago, Johnston the outstanding programs and services Tmer NW3C Director Richard L. (Dick) gave an introductory speech at an aca- that benefit state and local law enforce- Johnston passed away on Jan. 26, 2012. demic workshop where he discussed ment to this day.” However, his life’s work continues to how the entire paradigm of economic One of Johnston’s first acts as benefit the community, and memories crime was changing because of ad- NW3C’s Director was to reach out to of his caring nature will live on in those vancements in technology. His ability law enforcement and conduct a needs who knew him. to establish relationships with law en- assessment. This assessment revealed Johnston served as Director for forcement partners and envision what a great need for training in economic NW3C from August 1992 through No- would be needed in the future helped and computer crimes, and, as a re- vember 2003. Through his guidance ensure that NW3C was at the fore- sult, NW3C created the Training and and leadership, he furthered NW3C’s front of high-tech and cyber crime Research Institute. The Institute has mission to provide state and local po- education and research. evolved into the cutting edge training lice and other law enforcement agen- He helped build the foundation for and research organization that NW3C cies with investigative support, infor- many of the training courses and tools is today. Law enforcement agencies mation management, training and that are used in today’s criminal inves- have come to rely on these valuable research services. tigations, including computer seizure programs and resources in their efforts “Dick was always out meeting and recovery procedures, file conver- to fight cyber and white collar crime. people and generating ideas for new sion techniques and more. One of the many developments programs,” said Ben Lewis, NW3C “He devoted substantial time, ener- that can be credited to Johnston is Computer Crime Specialist. “Without gy and passion to NW3C,” said NW3C the Internet Crime Complaint Center

6 INFORMANT: SPRING/SUMMER 2012 NW3C Members

(IC3), a partnership between NW3C, also well known as a sociable, caring ious management positions including BJA and the FBI that serves as a pow- person who was always interested in Agent in Charge of the San Jose Office. erful conduit for law enforcement to the welfare of others. In the private sector, he served as a fi- share information and pursue Inter- “Dick was always on the lookout nancial advisor and Deputy Director of net crime cases across jurisdictional for the troops, and he constantly talk- the Louisville-Jefferson County (KY) boundaries. IC3 also serves as a re- ed about his wife, kids and his grand- Crime Commission. Additionally, he source for victims of Internet crime children,” said Lewis. “He touched was an adjunct faculty member at the by providing information and alerts a lot of people here in the U.S. and Southern Police Institute at the Uni- to inform the public about the latest around the world.” versity of Louisville and Director of the frauds and scams. Johnston’s criminal justice career Drug Enforcement Training Program Johnston was not only a man dedi- began with the Bureau of Alcohol, To- at the Virginia Department of Crimi- cated to serving the public, he was bacco and Firearms where he held var- nal Justice Services.  NIST Establishes National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence By Elizabeth Singer W3C has developed numerous partnerships with agencies and companies that are experts in developing and using computer forensic tools. As part Nof NW3C’s efforts to identify and evaluate forensic tools for use by state and local law enforcement, NW3C serves on the National Institute of Standards’ (NIST) Computer Fo- cybersecurity approaches to serve the real world needs of rensics Tool Testing Steering Committee. complex IT systems. Recently, NIST announced a new public-private partner- An NIST factsheet outlines some of the center’s initial ship initiative, the National Cybersecurity Center of Excel- offerings: lence. The goal of the center is to accelerate the widespread • Health IT solutions that utilize and enhance open in- adoption of integrated cybersecurity tools and technologies to terface standards to encourage interoperability and enhance online safety for government, business and the public. flexibility, while allowing wide broadband remote The center will feature a state-of-the-art computing fa- access and high levels of privacy and security. cility where researchers from NIST will work with both the • Cloud computing that provides strong methods for users and vendors of cybersecurity products and services. knowing the physical location of sensitive data and Funding for the project comes from NIST’s fiscal year 2012 for monitoring and verifying permissions for data congressional appropriations, which provided $10 million movement among cloud servers. to establish these partnerships to operate the center. The • Mobile computing solutions that provide trusted State of Maryland and Montgomery County, MD (where ways for organizations to communicate with em- the center is located) are cosponsors. ployees on their personally owned devices and yet At the launch of the Center, U.S. Senator for Mary- protect that data if the device is lost or stolen or if the land Barbara Mikulski said, “This new center will buy two employee no longer works for the organization. things: new experts to help do the center operations and “Cyber crime hurts individuals, businesses and govern- give grants to industry and academia to really develop the ment agencies. We want to bring together the best minds standards for products… I'm so proud that NIST is head- and provide them with the best tools to create and test solu- quartered in Montgomery County.” Senator Mikulski also tions that will make online transactions of all kinds safer,” stated that this center means new technology, products and NIST Director Patrick Gallagher said in a statement, “We’re jobs in the cybersecurity field, which will better prepare the pleased to have the support of our Maryland partners, and U.S. to defend against cyber attacks. look forward to working with additional partners from in- A statement released by NIST explains that the center dustry, academia, nonprofit and government sectors.” will undertake carefully developed cases – comprehensive For more information on the center, visit www.nist.gov requirements and test plans to address specific cyber secu- or view the fact sheet at www.nist.gov/public_affairs/fact-  rity challenges – that will lead to practical, interoperable sheet/upload/nccoe.pdf. WWW.NW3C.ORG 7 NW3C Members LAPD Captain Bill Williams Appointed to NW3C Board of Directors By Ty Bowers

By all accounts, the LAAORCA ini- At its January meeting, NW3C’s tiative has been a success. In fact, the Board of Directors appointed Captain association’s annual conference this Williams to serve as a non-regional year drew 1,000 attendees. “We are uti- Director. The non-regional Directors lizing the synergy we have developed are nominated by the NW3C Board in the community to address the most Chairman and elected by the other pressing issues,” Williams said. Directors, based on their particular Other LAPD Commercial Crimes expertise or experience, which con- Division initiatives that Captain Wil- tributes to the NW3C mission. liams spearheads include sponsorship In his capacity as a non-regional of annual Law Enforcement and Pri- NW3C Director, Captain Williams vate Security (LEAPS) conferences hopes to promote the many training s a boy, Bill Williams was and regular training seminars devot- and technical assistance services the glued to the television every ed to fraud prevention. “The police organization offers to state and local Tuesday and Thursday watch- department can’t do it all by them- law enforcement. ingA episodes of Dragnet and Adam- selves,” Captain Williams said. “We The LAPD’s Commercial Crimes 12, the long-running TV shows that have to address these issues by work- Division focuses heavily on economic chronicled the lives and work of offi- ing in partnership with businesses crimes, like fraud or identity theft. But, cers and detectives in the Los Angeles and neighborhoods.” the division also places a tremendous Police Department (LAPD). Captain Williams joined the LAPD emphasis on technology in its approach “I knew from a very young age, as a Student Police Worker in 1978 and to combating crime. “It is my view that that I wanted to be a Los Angeles became a sworn police officer in Febru- every officer should have training in police officer,” he recalled. Now the ary 1980. He moved through the ranks computer issues, and NW3C can help Commanding Officer of the LAPD of leadership, starting with Sergeant in build that capacity. I know that NW3C Commercial Crimes Division, Cap- 1987, Lieutenant in 1992 and achieved can help us put bad guys in jail,” Captain tain Williams more than made good the rank of Captain in 2000. He has Williams said. The computer crime, fi- on that childhood dream. held a variety of positions within patrol nancial crime and intelligence analysis Under his leadership, the LAPD and has been selected for a number of training NW3C provides is crucial to Commercial Crimes Division has part- specialized assignments in Vice, Oper- developing and enhancing the investi- nered with communities and businesses ations-Central Bureau Task Force and gative capabilities of state and local law to reduce organized retail fraud. Captain the Narcotics Division. Captain Wil- enforcement throughout the country. Williams currently serves as co-chair of liams has been Commanding Officer Captain Williams also cited NW3C’s the Los Angeles Area Organized Retail of the Pacific Area Operation Support long record of developing productive Crimes Association (LAAORCA), an and West Traffic divisions as well as the partnerships among law enforcement, innovative public/private partnership Pacific Community Police Station. Since industry and academia as a key reason between retail loss prevention manag- 2007, he has led the Commercial Crimes for the organization’s success in achiev- ers and law enforcement. Members of Division, with 130 personnel spread ing its mission over the years. LAAORCA share intelligence and re- among seven sections – Burglary Spe- The LAPD has been an NW3C sources to combat the effects of prop- cial Section (BSS), Violent Crime Spe- member agency since 1999. With erty crime throughout the region. The cial Section (VCSS), Commercial Auto more than 9,000 officers, LAPD is the group uses a secure website to transmit Theft Section (CATS), Taskforce for -Re third-largest municipal police depart- real-time information related to crime gional Auto Theft Prevention (TRAP), ment in the U.S.  trends and other issues among law en- Fraud, Metropolitan Forgery and Val- forcement and retailers. ley/West Los Angeles Forgery Sections.

8 INFORMANT: SPRING/SUMMER 2012 NW3C Members

NW3C Member Agency Highlights

Representatives from NW3C member agencies share their stories, experiences and comments about NW3C services.

Investigator Andrea G. Ragas, Economic Crime Unit Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office, Gretna, LA (Member Agency since March 2000)

ithout the help of the NW3C’s public database searches, our office would struggle to locate some of our worthless-check defendants in preparation for trial. Since Hur- ricane Katrina in 2005, we have relied on NW3C’s help almost on a weekly basis for Wassistance in locating members of our population who have scattered across the region. The analysts are always prompt in responding to our requests, and I am then able to provide the information necessary for our division to proceed with prosecutions. Thank you, NW3C, for offering your services and helping many victims to receive what they thought in many cases were unrecoverable financial losses.

Detective Jim Littlefield Pendleton Police Department, Pendleton, OR (Member Agency since December 2007)

n September 2011, I attended two NW3C computer crime training courses: Basic Cell Phone Investi- gations and Cell Phone – GPS Interrogation. I used the information and techniques that I learned to help solve a bank robbery case that occurred in Pendleton in August 2011. Specifically, I gathered Ievidence from the suspect’s cellular device and used the product PerpHound™ to place the suspect near the scene of the crime. This evidence helped lead to the suspect’s arrest and conviction. Thank you NW3C!

NW3C and IACP Social Media Training By Elizabeth Singer W3C and the International Association of Chiefs This past December, NW3C cohosted IACP’s Social of Police (IACP) Center for Social Media have Media Webinar and introduced Lt. Charles Cohen, of the combined their research and expertise to create Indiana State Police, who presented an interesting case aN training program about the many ways that social media study explaining how social media was used in the investi- can be leveraged to assist law enforcement. gation of a kidnapping/homicide case. During the NW3C This training, funded by the Bureau of Justice Assis- Social Media Outreach in Fairfax County, VA, in January tance (BJA), will delve into the criminal use of social me- 2012, IACP’s Nancy Kolb delivered a presentation about dia and how law enforcement can utilize it as an investi- law enforcement’s use of social networking sites and the gative tool. It will also provide law enforcement agencies resources available at the Center for Social Media. with a more complete picture and better understanding of More presentations by IACP and NW3C are sched- the numerous ways their agencies, investigations and lives uled, including one planned for Northern Virginia and are affected by the ever-expanding and evolving phenom- another at a financial crime conference in Texas. enon of social media. For more information or to attend a training, contact: The first training, held in August 2011 at the National Tammy Deavers, Administrative Support Specialist, Criminal Justice Association’s National Forum, was highly Computer Crimes, NW3C - [email protected] regarded by those who attended. Subsequent trainings have been held at other events and locations around the country. Nancy Kolb, Senior Program Manager, Community Safe- ty Initiatives, IACP - [email protected]  WWW.NW3C.ORG 9 NW3C Members Microsoft® and NW3C Join Forces to Combat Cyber Crime By Kim Williams

t makes sense that a company with a name synony- fraud the public. Thanks to Microsoft, the investigators mous with cutting edge software has partnered with a who depend on NW3C for training and analytical sup- non-profit agency focused on preventing, investigat- port will receive the resources needed to effectively com- ingI and prosecuting cyber crime. Microsoft, known world- bat these crimes. wide for its suite of software products, has joined forces The phrase “white collar crime” at one time brought with the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), to mind an image of a well-dressed businessperson ex- which equips law enforcement with the skills and support ecuting an illegal behind-the-scenes shifting of money. needed to battle economic and high-tech crimes. White collar crime today encompasses a much broader definition. Acts of terrorism, identity theft, human trafficking, and “Thanks to Microsoft, the investigators who narcotics dealing are just some of 3 the offenses containing a “white- depend on NW C for training and analytical collar” component. Without fund- support will receive the resources needed ing, these and many other crimes would not exist. Investigators to- to effectively combat these crimes.” day work to both stave off the capi- tal that keeps these violations alive, and also to track the money flow to On February 7, 2012, Microsoft finalized a 2.3 million stop the unlawful acts and arrest the perpetrators. NW3C dollar donation of its software in support of technology assists in these efforts by training law enforcement to in- platform upgrades at NW3C. The donation includes li- vestigate and prosecute these transgressions and by teach- censing for all Microsoft products used at NW3C, including the public how to avoid becoming victims of them. ing software, operating systems and servers. NW3C plans Microsoft is pleased to partner with NW3C in its im- to use the software system-wide and in research equip- portant work to combat economic and high-tech crimes. ment and computer labs used to train law enforcement. The two organizations have an established partnership As a non-profit corporation assisting law enforce- that grows stronger each year. In addition, Microsoft has a ment in its fight against cyber crime, NW3C depends on 10-year history of supporting law enforcement and plans access to the latest computer products to stay ahead of to continue to provide access to the tools and techniques the savvy criminals using technology to scam and de- needed to prevent, investigate and prosecute crimes. 

10 INFORMANT: SPRING/SUMMER 2012 I I I r

UPCOMINGFREE ? ¦ J TRAINING Intellectual Property Crime Training (For Law Enforcement) i?!_' New Braunfels, TX - 8/ 10/ 12 M4 Saint Paul, MN - 8/24/12 7-7 Edison, NJ - 9/6/12 Portland, OR - 9/24/12 Oklahoma City, O1( - 10/2/12 Columbus , OH - 10/ 19/12 Training Topics Include: to The health, safety, and economic threats resulting from IP crimes • The variety of IP crimes and criminals • Investigative techniques and prosecutorial theories • Hands-on exercise • And more! To register, visit oir trahiiog sits at . y y www.nw3c.org • •

C NAGTRI NATIONAI WHITE Cnl I AR RINIF (.FNTFR atlona ssoclatlon ?? ../ Attorneys General Questions? Call 877-628-7674

This project ion supported by Grant No. 2010-DB.$Xate76 and 201D-OB.BX4(O92 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of JusticeAs- sistance Is a component of the Office of Justic e Programs, which also Includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, the Community Capacity Development Office, and the Office of Sex Of. fender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking. Points of view or opinions In this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. The National White Collar Crime Center ( NW3C) Is the copyright owner of this fact sheet This rote"'nation may not be used or reproduced In any form without the express written permission of NW3C. NW3C- , IC30, and IC$l$' are trademarks of NW3C, Inc. and may not be used without permission. Bureau of Justice Assistance Y.S. Department of Justice 0 2012. NW3C, Inc. dfblat the National White Collar Crime Center. Al rights reserved. WWW.NW3C.ORG 11 NW3C Members

Success Stories and Case Highlights

NW3C is dedicated to supporting law enforcement in the prevention, investigation and prosecution of economic and high-tech crime. Our training, investigative support and research has helped our member agencies successfully investigate and prosecute cases across the country.

Case: Internet Crimes Against Chil- ecuting attorneys and law enforcement analyze it without altering the data dren in Arkansas agencies across the state, and I appreci- or compromising evidence. With Agency: Arkansas Office of the -At ate the hard work of Sheriff Cody Car- their training and tools, the investiga- torney General and the Scott County penter and Prosecutor Tom Tatum in tors were able to image five computers Sheriff’s Department this case." The Scott County Sheriff's and a server in 24 hours. The imaged Office and the Fifteenth District Pros- computer records showed that invoices he new Cyber Crimes Unit for the ecuting Attorney's Office assisted in the were missing or had been voided and TArkansas Office of the Attorney arrest, investigation and conviction. Ta- false invoices were created. While the General successfully convicted a Scott tum appointed Assistant Attorney Gen- investigators were imaging the server County man for multiple counts of pos- eral Bart Dickinson as special prosecu- at the business headquarters, the sub- session of child pornography. tor in the case. Dickinson was assisted ject confessed to failing to remit tax Richard W. King, 34, of Waldron, by Fifteenth Judicial District Chief Dep- dollars collected.  was sentenced to 80 years in prison after uty Prosecutor John Reidel.  pleading guilty to eight counts of pos- Case: Operation Checkmate sessing, distributing or viewing mat- Case: Tax Evasion Agencies: The U.S. Secret Service, the ter depicting sexually explicit conduct Agency: Tennessee Department of U.S. Postal Inspection Service and involving a child. King was arrested by Revenue Special Investigations Section NW3C agents with the Attorney General’s Cy- ssistant U.S. Attorney Timothy ber Crimes Unit following an investiga- he Special Investigations Section of the Tennessee Department of ABelevetz (Southern District of tion that began in June 2011. T Virginia) recently commended NW3C A forensic examination by the Cy- Revenue conducted a search warrant on a business with multiple locations. enforcement analysts Kathryn Rinker ber Crimes Unit found multiple images and Cindy Williamson for their con- of child pornography on a laptop com- Mark See from the Special Investiga- tions Section had recently attended tribution to the successful prosecution puter that belonged to King. King also of 12 defendants in connection with a admitted to investigators that he had an NW3C Fast Track training course, and contacted NW3C instructors for nationwide identity theft ring. Dubbed downloaded approximately 15 videos “Operation Checkmate,” this investi- of child pornography. advice on the best way to acquire an image of a server that had three hard gation uncovered losses of more than Arkansas Attorney General Dustin $1.5 million. McDaniel stated in a recent release: drives configured in Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID). In 2008 the U.S. Secret Service and "This man will now spend a significant the U.S. Postal Inspection Service began amount of time in the penitentiary away RAID is a computer data storage scheme that can divide and replicate the investigation into this identity theft from our children and cut off from the ring and collected thousands of pages ability to continue to harm them. It's our data among multiple physical drives, so that the data is efficiently distributed of bank records, wire transfer receipts, goal in the Attorney General's Office to flight records and surveillance pho- be an active leader in the fight against across all of the drives. The investigators were able to tographs. Investigators gave the data Internet crimes against children, and to Rinker and Williamson, who then I am pleased that we have secured our image the hard drives with Forensic Toolkit® (FTK) and then were able analyzed it for each participant in the first conviction in this fight." scheme. This analysis allowed the agents McDaniel also said, “Our Cyber to collect useful information from the image in EnCase® Forensic. FTK and prosecutors to quickly review the Crimes Unit would not be as effective evidence that supported charges against without the help and support of pros- and EnCase allowed the investigators to collect this information and each individual and link conspirators in 12 INFORMANT: SPRING/SUMMER 2012 NW3C Members this extensive scheme. Rinker and Wil- ated for herself and her two daughters. instructors helped to put together one liamson compiled this information and Investigators, with the help of ana- piece of the puzzle that allowed closure developed spreadsheets that quantified lysts from NW3C’s Investigative Support for the agency and the victim’s family.  the loss attributed to the criminal ac- Section, established a clear pattern that tions of each defendant. showed how most of the money was de- Case: Craigslist® Wire Fraud According to a statement by Belevetz, posited into the daughters’ accounts and Agency: Dallas Police Department “These spreadsheets were indispensible then transferred into Jamrus Kassim’s allas Police Department Detec- tools during the plea negotiations with personal accounts. NW3C analysts iden- Dtive Mike Martin recently re- defense counsel during the sentencing tified and documented key businesses ceived information from the Internet phase of each defendant’s case.” The sen- and people paid with the stolen money. Crime Complaint Center (IC3®) about tences for the two leaders in the scheme The charts and reports created for the a victim who had responded to a bo- were 200 and 136 months in prison. Be- case were instrumental in obtaining Jam- gus Craigslist ad for computer repairs. levetz also stated, “Rinker and William- rus Kassim’s guilty plea in late 2011. The victim received a check for nearly son consistently turned the information Bankers Life agreed to repay the $3,000, deposited it into his bank ac- they were given around quickly and pro- money, plus interest, that its former count and wired the money to another vided clear and well-organized analysis.” agent stole from her clients, according person in Fort Worth, TX. Their professionalism and expertise in to the state’s insurance commissioner. Detective Martin followed up and this field have been recognized before, as NW3C regularly partners with found a woman in Fort Worth who had both were recipients of the United States member agencies to provide analytical received the money. She told him that Attorney’s Office Public Service Award support on major cases.  she believed she was working as a book- in 2010.  keeper for a company that was building Case: Murder/Suicide Cell Phone orphanages in Nigeria. Detective Martin Case: First-degree Theft Timeline has since found approximately 30 vic- Agencies: Washington State Office of Agency: Mount Pleasant Police tims of wire transfers for around $50,000 the Insurance Commissioner, King Department, Mount Pleasant, SC to $60,000 in losses as well as evidence County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office hile attending an NW3C i2 Ana- that the woman had mailed 121 checks and NW3C Wlysts’ Notebook® 8 course, Steve to individuals based on instructions that orking alongside the Washing- Dunbar of Mount Pleasant Police, asked arrived via email from Nigeria. Specifi- Wton State Office of the Insurance the instructors (Kathryn Rinker, Keisha cally for the IC3 case, she sent five West- Commissioner and the King County Ruble and Jeff Lybarger) to assist in put- ern Union® wires to Nigeria for amounts Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, NW3C ting together a timeline and telephone less than $500 based on instructions she analysts helped convict an insurance chart for a murder suicide case. The in- received by email. agent who stole retirement funds be- formation they were able to pull together Detective Martin shut down her longing to her elderly clients. aided investigators On March 9, 2012, after pleading in better under- guilty to 10 counts of first-degree theft for standing the case. NW3C regularly partners taking $1.1 million from five elderly cli- The suspect in the with member agencies to ents, defendant Jasmine Jamrus Kassim case, David Hed- was sentenced to 75 months in prison. rick, had used his fi- provide analytical support Jamrus Kassim had been an agent ancé’s cell phone to on major cases. for Bankers Life and Casualty Co., text her family and which sells life and supplemental health employer to make (Medicare) insurance as well as annui- it seem like she was ties to senior citizens. Beginning in Oc- alive and okay. He then threw the phone operation and advised her not to com- tober 2007, Jamrus Kassim began steal- into a nearby drainage pond, where it municate with the Nigerians and to ing from her clients by convincing them was located by a team of divers. Just four forward anything she received from to sign withdrawal forms for their an- days after committing the murder of his them to him. He has since been able nuities. The insurance agent deposited fiancé, Hedrick committed suicide. The to keep one other person from being the money into bank accounts she cre- information provided by the NW3C victimized by this fraud as well. 

WWW.NW3C.ORG 13 Bit.lyTM – Bit.ly is a free URL shortening service that allows users to shorten URLs to make them much easier to share on social sites such as Twitter.

Blogroll – A blogroll is a collection of links to other blogs, normally found on a blog’s homepage.

Flash Mob – A flash mob is a large group of people who assemble sud- denly in a public place, perform a pre- defined action, often a brief dance or pointless act, and then quickly dis- perse.

Foursquare® – Foursquare is a location-based mobile platform that allows you to share your location and connect with others by “checking in” via your smartphone or Short Messaging Service (SMS).

r Social Me he dia t S O it Orkut.com e s W Terminology o r Hashtag – A hashtag is a word or phrase pre- Pinterest.com t h ceded by a “#,” used to collate tweets. A hashtag

is used in Twitter as a way for people to search for a

tweets on a similar topic. Bebo.com L o

Hootsuite – Hootsuite is a Twitter o

toolbox. With Hootsuite, you can man- ddit.com k

Re . age your entire Twitter and social me- .

. Digg.com . dia profiles, preschedule tweets, and view web metrics from one easy-to-use dash- board.

Mashup – A mashup is any type of media — such as a song, content, or video — that com- mbleUpon.com m bines material from multiple sources to create delicious.com .com Stu co a new work. . p el Meme – (Pronounced Meem) An idea that is Y propagated through the Web (i.e. going viral). Tumbler The idea may take the form of a hyperlink, video,

picture, website, hashtag or just a word or phrase. The meme may spread from person to person via social networks, blogs, direct email, news sources or other web-based services.

14 INFORMANT: SPRING/SUMMER 2012 Intriguing Facts About Social Media

1 in 5 couples Facebook® tops A new member meet online Google in weekly joins LinkedIn® U.S. traffic every second

24 hours of video If Wikipedia.com Kids are starting to is uploaded to were a book, it learn on iPads®, not YouTube® every would be 2.25 chalkboards minute million pages and would take 123 years to read

News Reader – A news reader allows users to aggregate content – blogs, articles, etc. — from multiple websites into one place using RSS feeds. This allows users to more easily scan and consume content. An example: Google ReaderTM.

Tag Cloud – A tag cloud is a visual depiction of user-generated tags, typically used to describe the content of websites and blogs.

Tweetup – A Tweetup is an organized or impromptu gathering of people who use Twitter.

Tweetdeck® – A Twitter management tool that allows you to post tweets, and follow specific trends, retweets and more.

Wiki – Wikis are collaboration tools. They allow multiple people to work in the same online document. Wikipedia is the only wiki that has really been successful.

WWW.NW3C.ORG 15 Real Crimes, Virtual Evidence By Ty Bowers Cyber crime expert Lt. Charles Cohen schools law enforcement in social media investigations. hen found a discussion thread labeled with the acronym “PTHC.” A veteran Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) investigator, Cohen knew exactly what the acronym stood for, but did anyone else in the room? He asked for a show of hands. Seeing none, he explained: “P-T-H- C. It means pre-teen hardcore. When investigating pedophiles it’s helpful to know the terms.” Elsewhere on the suspect’s many Facebook profiles were other disturbing clues as to his real intentions for being online. But how did Cohen figure out that the profiles belonged to the same person? Email addresses associated with the profiles were nearly identical, save for a different set of numbers at the end of each address. To issue Lt. Charles Cohen, Indiana State Police, and Director an account, Facebook requires a user to provide an email Don Brackman, NW3C. address and a date of birth (no one under 13 can set up e called himself a “geek with a gun.” Indiana State an account). The numbers at the end of each of the sus- Police Lt. Charles Cohen scours online social pect’s bogus email addresses represented the date of birth networks, video chat rooms and photo-sharing he used to create that particular profile. sitesH looking for pedophiles, drug dealers, gang members In another case, a 14-year-old Indiana girl used Stick- and even murderers. am.com to video herself performing a sex act while her “When it comes to using emergent technology, law en- boyfriend watched online. However, the video feed was forcement is probably further behind the curve than any intercepted and posted to a Russian pornography site. A other type of organization,” Cohen told a packed room at 47-year-old man, who knew the girl, saw the video and be- the Fairfax County (VA) Criminal Justice Academy. gan to blackmail her. He threatened to expose her behav- More than 200 law enforcement personnel came to see ior if she did not engage in online sexual acts with him. Cohen’s presentation “Online Social Media and Criminal When Cohen and his investigators went to execute Investigations” at NW3C’s Outreach event in Chantilly, VA. a search warrant on the man’s home, “he was literally “There is so much information on the Web and little things coming down the stairs pulling his pants up to open the to look at that will help investigations,” said Fairfax County door.” Investigators discovered that the man had been on Police Officer M. Goodley. “This is good material to learn.” a video chat with another young girl at the time. When Information found online provides a window into the they showed the girl their badges, she typed this message: inner lives of victims, witnesses and suspects, Cohen said. “Does this mean it’s over?” Today’s savviest investigators know how to leverage that With the above examples, Cohen demonstrated how cer- data to build cases or compile valuable intelligence. tain criminals use Internet technology to perpetrate crimes. “There’s no way you can check 3,000 social networks,” Online data also can point investigators to key evidence of Cohen said. “You have to make some assumptions. This is criminal behavior in the offline world as well, Cohen said. about understanding your community.” People from dif- Using a case study of the 2005 murder of a Virginia ferent countries flock to different types of online commu- Commonwealth University student Taylor Behl, Cohen nities, he said. The languages Internet users speak, where showed how investigators used data from social network- they live, their ages or occupations can all indicate which ing sites and from digital media (photos posted online) to types of online technologies they will use. identify suspect Ben Fawley and track his movements be- Cohen used real-world examples to illustrate how fore and after the crime. Ultimately this evidence helped criminals exploit the latest online tools to seek out victims put Fawley behind bars. or cover their tracks. Fawley, a 38-year-old amateur photographer and art- On one suspected pedophile’s Facebook® profile, Co- ist, had befriended Behl on MySpace®, which then was a

16 INFORMANT: SPRING/SUMMER 2012 National White Collar Crime Center West Virginia Training Event popular online social network. As investigators further examined Fawley’s online activity, they discovered photo- graphs of an isolated area in Mathews County, VA where NW3C he had dumped Behl’s body after raping and killing her. Cohen also showed how online photos, in particular, often contain a treasure trove of metadata – file types, camera types, longitude and latitude – that can point investigators to crime scenes or the locations of perpetrators, victims or witnesses. In one example, Cohen illustrated how photos from a Beckley Raleigh County London protest, not far from where he was speaking at a Police Department Sheriff’s Office conference, could be pooled together via sites like www. When Thursday, August 16, 2012 cree.py or www.taggalaxy.de. These sites collect photos 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM based on geo-tag information, which could come in handy Registration begins at 7:00 AM during riot or mass-protest situations in any major city. “Now you’ve got a bunch of other people conducting po- Where Erma Byrd Higher Education Center lice surveillance for you,” Cohen said. 300 University Drive An entire generation of law enforcement is now socially Beaver, WV 25813 networking online, Cohen said. Their presence on these sites Cost FREE can pose risks to agencies and operations as well. Criminals could use an officer’s social media behavior to blackmail, Course Online Social Media and he suggested. Also, facial recognition technology could be Criminal Investigations used by criminals to expose undercover officers. Facebook Social networking sites are virtual communities. photo-tagging can inadvertently bring scrutiny to officers As in any large community, these sites are home working undercover or on sensitive cases. to criminal organizations, fraud and violent Lt. Jamel Perkins of the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office crime. The goal of this course is to equip inves- Division of Internal Affairs said: “This was a great class. tigators with the tools needed to prevent, track Our agency is seeing more things online that deputies are and solve crimes in these communities. posting. Now that’s part of our focus.” This one-day (8 hour) course is designed for Cohen closed his presentation with another case study: law enforcement supervisors, criminal inves- a 2005 school shooting in Red Lake, MN that killed seven tigators, criminal intelligence analysts, special and wounded five others. agents and other investigators. Students with The perpetrator, 16-year-old Jeffrey Weise, began his any level of familiarity with the Internet and day by shooting and killing his grandfather and his grand- computers, from beginning to advanced, will father’s girlfriend. Then he went to Red Lake Senior High find this course beneficial. 8 hours of Annual School and shot 12 others and killed himself. In-service credit approved for WV LEOs. Before the massacre, Weise had taken to social media Instructor Lieutenant Chuck Cohen to post threatening messages and upload disturbing ani- mated sequences involving gun violence. Weise’s Internet An 18-year veteran with the Indiana State Police, activities highlighted “one problem with social media in- Lieutenant Cohen is the formation,” Cohen said. “What do we do with it?” Commander of the Special Police may not have been able to arrest Weise for his Investigation and Criminal disturbing Internet posts, but they may have been able to ? I? Intelligence Sections and monitor him more closely, Cohen suggested. also serves as the Indiana In closing, Cohen stressed one key point: “None of Internet Crimes Against this technology is bad or evil. Technology is neutral. We Children (ICAC) Task Force learned to use the wheel and, I’m pretty sure, not long after Commander. there was a hit and run. Not long after we discovered fire, Your agency does not have to be a member of NW3C to attend. Please I’m certain someone committed arson,” he said. “Criminals share this event information with other law enforcement agencies.  will try to exploit whatever technology is available.” Register at outreach.nw3c.org

WWW.NW3C.ORG 17 Breaking Down

Social Media By Elizabeth Singer

Social Media – The Big Picture • Discuss – Live-chatting or webinars (Skype®) ocial media has revolutionized how we communicate. • Social Networks – Sites for socializing and con- It has changed society by providing an outlet where the necting with people (Facebook, MySpace®) average user drives the content that is shared on the • Microblogging – Includes sites for sharing small SWeb. Because of its ubiquitous nature, social media allows snippets of information or links (Twitter, tumblr®) millions of people to connect, share and express themselves. • Virtual Worlds (also called Second Life®) - In- It is not a passing trend, but a worldwide phenomenon. cludes online games or communities (Club Penguin®, Many may define social media as a tool that is used by World of War Craft®) young adults for connecting with friends, but the impact • Social Games – Games played online with friends has been far greater. The use of TwitterTM, TwitPicTM, Face- (Farmville®, Words with Friends®) book® and YouTube® helped to accelerate social protest and • Life stream (social network aggregation) – Allows led to dramatic politi- users to discuss and share cal changes during the content that is discovered Arab Spring uprisings SHARE online (Friendfeed®) Who is using social in Tunisia, Egypt and PUBLISH around the Middle East. media? Research from In the U.S., social media SOCIAL Nielsen shows that social networking accounts can make or break a po- GAMES litical campaign, it can for 22 percent of all time pressure businesses and spent online in the U.S. leaders and is now the Surprisingly the top us- major source for news DISCUSS ers are between 35 and 44 ICRO and information. M years old. Demograph- The powerhouse BLOGGING ics also highlight that the behind this revolution LIFE overall breakdown of use is Facebook. It is esti- STREAM by gender is fairly equal. mated that Facebook Criminal Use of Social will reach 1 billion users Media by this summer (there As social media users VIRTUAL are about 310.5 million start each day, they reach people in the U.S.). Yet WORLDS SOCIAL for smart phones or com- social media goes be- puters to say “good morn- NETWORKS yond Facebook as there ing” to Facebook friends. are thousands of web- Later they comment on the sites that allow people to service at Starbucks®, and connect and share. share pictures or even video of things going on throughout To better understand the classifications of social media, the day. Social media has created a society where people law enforcement social media expert Indiana State Police live in a public setting and openly share information with Lt. Charles Cohen breaks it down this way: family, friends and possibly millions of others, including • Publish – Includes blogs and wikis (Wikipedia® criminals. and others) For example, a Facebook user posts comments and • Share – Includes sites where you share pictures, pictures while on a vacation at the beach. This person also video, etc. (Flickr®, YouTube)

18 INFORMANT: SPRING/SUMMER 2012 tweets pictures or posts to a blog. A criminal who comes bers, share information and more. Social media also allows across this information now knows the user is out of town. gangs to expand criminal activity that includes intellectual A little more research into some tagged photos or posts can property crimes, identity theft, prostitution and fraud. lead the crook to even more information they can use to Social Sleuthing burglarize a home or defraud the family. Technology like geotagging has made the process much easier. Lt. Cohen Social networks have become a valuable tool for law en- recently explained to NW3C analysts that there are many forcement. Many NW3C member agencies, ranging from free software programs that can decode geotag information the Los Angeles (CA) Police Department, to the Middle and provide a Google® map to the location. Township (NJ) Police Department, have successfully used A recent report by NW3C on the Criminal Use of Social social media to nab criminals, investigate crimes and reach Media states that crimes of this nature are occuring more out to their community. Evidence and information found frequently and should on social networking sites have helped to convict child serve as a reminder that pornographers, gang members and even murderers. Sometimes the criminals help by posting videos of Users are not as cau- users are not as cautious as they should be with themselves committing the act. In a case in Martinsburg, tious as they should their personal informa- WV in 2009, a burglar checked his Facebook page on the be with their personal tion. victim’s computer and left it open, leading to an easy arrest. information. In September 2011, Other cases aren’t so simple, and using social media as evi- three men were ar- dence is also not as simple as it may seem. rested in Nashua, NH Mark Gage, NW3C Deputy Director, explained that, who used Facebook to “There are some departments and some disciplines with- target and burglarize in law enforcement dozens of homes, loot- very adept at using ing between $100,000 social media in ap- and $200,000 worth of property and goods. Crimes based propriate ways to 78% of burglars use further investiga- on online information can also be violent. There have been social media to choose several cyber bullying cases that led to the suicide of the tions, but there’s a victims. Posts to Craigslist® have led to robbery or assault lot of training that where they’re going to and each day children become victims of predators. needs to go on to break in. More common crimes perpetrated through social media guide that use and include fraud/scams and identity theft. Phishing for informa- make sure privacy tion like passwords and account numbers also helps criminals issues are covered. commit identity theft, and social media facilitates this crime. Even the younger Social networks also offer a golden opportunity for virus and generation [of of- malware developers. One popular way to distribute malware ficers] coming on, is through Facebook applications as there is no formal review may be intimately involved with social media but need to for apps or their developers. It is up to the user to be cautious understand how to vet and corroborate that information so about what apps they download, and what links they click. it can aid in prosecution.” Recently flash mobs have emerged as a new way to com- To build on Gage’s statement, using a Facebook post to mit crimes via social networking. Flash mobs started as a corroborate the whereabouts of a suspect is just the start. It civil event for communities to get together. However, there is important for law enforcement to understand the inner has been an increase in the use of flash mobs to loot, riot workings of social media, associated privacy issues, and and commit other crimes. A tweet can let a group of people how to best use and verify the information. People share know the time, place and event that will occur. This has passwords, accounts are hacked and criminals are getting posed a challenge for law enforcement, as the message can savvier at using social media to commit crimes, and law spread quickly and is hard to track. enforcement must be savvy also. NW3C and the IACP are Gangs have also taken to social media. It is the standard working with law enforcement to provide training and infor gangs to have websites and for members to communi- formation that can help agencies and officers navigate and cate through social networking sites and routinely place use social media effectively. For more information visit  videos or pictures to hype their gang, recruit new mem- www.nw3c.org or www.iacp.org.

WWW.NW3C.ORG 19 How Richmond (VA) Police Got Social (Media)

By Dionne Waugh Public Affairs Unit Richmond Police Department Facebook®. Twitter®. YouTube®. UStream®. Tumblr®. Foursquare®. hese are six of the social media platforms that we at Richmond (VA) Police use to better communicate with our community. We have come a long way Tfrom the beginning when we were considering using social media, and even then, just Facebook®! Though it may be hard to imagine now, it was a really big deal when our agency first wanted to start using social media three years ago. At that time, we could only find one other law enforcement agency in Virginia that was using it, specifically Facebook, and only a handful of agencies across the country who were trying it. We had a lot of aspects to consider: we were a government agency; we were law enforcement; what would we post; how often would we post; and, finally, what about negative comments. The list of things to consider goes on and on, but it was that last aspect that gave us the most concern. Yes, we wanted to interact online with our community, but we didn’t want people to needlessly bash the Department, its employees or its actions. That one issue led

20 INFORMANT: SPRING/SUMMER 2012 to much discussion and was the No. 1 factor we wrestled partment, from patrol to Mounted to Records and our with before launching our Facebook page. Once we agreed 911 dispatchers. As a result, we’ve seen many com- that our Public Affairs Unit would monitor all comments, ments and “likes” from those units as well as from we got the green light. their family and friends. While it’s great to see citizens It’s been an exciting and enlightening three-plus years learning about their sector officers, it’s also good to see ever since. We may have started with the question “What those same officers proud of their co-workers and their the heck do we post?” But now the question is: “What do Department for publicly recognizing them. we not post?” • There is no wrong way to do it We started with the easy posts, which were basically Just because another agency posts things that we don’t, things we were already doing: news releases, photos, in- or one agency posts more photos than text, doesn’t vites to upcoming public police-related events. Now we mean one is better or worse than the other. They’re just post everything from prostitution sting mugshot photos to different. That’s the great thing about social media. You monthly videos of our officers on duty to even a minute- can make it what you want and make it what works long video of some of our bicycle officers rescuing a hedge- best for you and your agency. hog stuck in a fence. During the week, we post at least one • Be willing to change item everyday and sometimes we also post on the weekends We have modified how we use social media based on when situations call for it. what we’ve learned. For example, we try to post more We believe the No. 1 thing that’s made our journey a suc- photos and videos, not just press releases. They are cess is our support—both internally by our Chief, Command more visually interesting and we want visitors to stay Staff and officers as well as from our community. We may on our page and explore to learn about the Depart- have made some stumbles along the way, such as not re- ment and all that we do. One thing we don’t do much sponding the way someone wanted, or posting or not posting of anymore is post our homicide press releases on Fa- certain items, but the Department and our community sup- cebook because of the negative comments they gener- ported us. They encouraged us. Internally, the Department ate about the crime itself or the victim. We still post wanted to better communicate and inform the community. that information on our website and it’s still available Externally, our community wanted to learn more about their via our searchable crime database. police department and the incidents that were occurring and • Have a social media policy, have a social media poli- they wanted to do that via social media. cy, and did I mention have a social media policy? Some of the most important lessons we’ve learned have Speaking of inappropriate commenting, one of THE been: most important lessons we’ve learned when it comes to • A changed perception using social media is to have a social media policy that One of the interesting changes we have seen at the spells out how everything will be managed. If people Department since we started using social media don’t know what they can and can’t do when it comes is how many officers and detectives now ask us to to social media, they’ll do whatever they want. From use Facebook to put information out to the public. who will have the authority to post on your social me- Detectives who are not on Facebook, and hap- dia sites to what can be posted and what can be deleted. pily proclaim they never will be, have absolutely We would also advise agencies to remember that it’s a no problem coming to us and asking us to put balancing act. You need to balance the good of public, information out about crimes or wanted subjects positive interaction with your community versus their they’re trying to identify, because they realize the need to post comments on your page with which you power and reach of using that medium. That’s a big may not always agree. change from when we first started using Facebook Overall, we would describe our social media experience as and had to constantly ask people if they had any overwhelmingly positive. Yes, there will be negative comments information we could post. and other issues that arise, and yes, you need to have a plan in • Created camaraderie place to know how you’re going to handle that, but overall, it’s This was an unexpected lesson for us. We always a good thing for a police department to be on social media.  try to post items about every unit within our De-

WWW.NW3C.ORG 21 IACP Social Media Website Proves to be a Valuable Tool for Law Enforcement

By Rebecca McClelland, Project Manager, International Association of Chiefs of Police Center for Social Media

y 2009, it had become clear that social media was Social media has also added a new layer to commu- here to stay and that it was having an impact on the nity policing. People across demographics are receiving law enforcement community. From investigations and processing information in new ways, often using so- toB community outreach, social media was already chang- cial media and mobile technologies. Social media allows ing the field of law enforcement. law enforcement to join and even create conversations Social media has and disseminate information in a wider and more time- proven to be a valuable efficient fashion. This is requiring public information of- 88.1 % tool to investigators ficers and others involved in communicating on behalf of law when they are seeking of an agency to learn new skillsets and process two-way enforcement evidence or information; communication at new levels. agencies however, knowing what Social media has also magnified issues related to of- surveyed use information is available ficer conduct and officer safety. Comments made through and how to obtain that social media social media channels are compromising cases, damaging information has proven and ending careers, opening agencies and officers up to to be a challenge. In ad- liability, and jeopardizing the safety of law enforcement dition, social media is personnel and their families. To address these emerging providing new opportunities for criminals to perpetrate issues, the International Association of Chiefs of Police crimes and harass victims. All of this has required law (IACP) received funding from the Bureau of Justice As- enforcement officials to become trained on what these sistance (BJA), U.S. Department of Justice to establish the tools are and how they work. Center for Social Media.

22 INFORMANT: SPRING/SUMMER 2012 At the annual IACP and more than half of those not using social media were 57.9 % conference in October considering its adoption. Agencies indicated numerous 2010, the IACP Center uses for social media; the most common use by survey of agencies not for Social Media website respondents was investigations at 71.1 percent. currently using was officially unveiled. The 2011 survey also revealed a rise in the num- social media The site serves as a clear- ber of agencies that have social media policies in place are considering inghouse of no-cost from 35.2 percent in 2010 to 48.6 percent. This finding adoption resources to assist law is supported by anec- enforcement in navigat- dotal evidence from ing the world of social agencies that are find- 71.1 % media. Resources avail- ing it necessary to im- able on the site include plement a social media of law enforcement a model policy, fact sheets, checklists, tutorials, news ar- policy. In addition, it use of social media ticles, overviews of social media platforms, and a Chiefs’ has been noted by sev- was for Column with articles written by chiefs for chiefs. In ad- eral agencies that the investigation dition, the Center for Social Media houses an online di- mere institution of a purposes rectory of more than 2,300 law enforcement agencies that policy is not enough. are currently using social media. The directory is search- Supplemental training able by location, type of agency, number of sworn officers, and education for of- population served, and social media platform. Directory ficers and command entries provide information about the agency and then staff is necessary to ensure that the policy is understood link directly to their social media sites. There is also the and followed. Through both The Social Media Beat blog opportunity for law enforcement personnel to request ad- and Chiefs’ Column, authors have outlined how they ditional resources from the Center for Social Media in- put similar training into practice in agencies such as the cluding webinar recordings, law enforcement guides to Roanoke (VA) Police Department and the Boise (ID) platforms, and training and technical assistance. Police Department. The Center for Social Media has a corresponding blog, Staff members at the Center for Social Media have The Social Media Beat. Here, visitors will find an array of provided training across the country to state associa- authors from through- tions of chiefs of police and national and international out the law enforcement law enforcement associations. These presentations range 48.6 % community, includ- from overviews to in-depth discussions on social media’s ing IACP staff, public implications for law enforcement personnel. Center for of agencies information officers, a Social Media staff are also surveyed have sergeant, a chief, and a available to provide sup- a social range of guest bloggers. port to law enforcement 22.1 % media policy This cadre of experts agencies in the form of vir- of law enforcement in place provides a unique and tual and on-site technical are in the process varied perspective on assistance. Staff can assist the use of social media agencies with social media of crafting a social for law enforcement, account creation, strategy media policy making the blog a valu- development and general able resource to any agency thinking about, or already us- consultation. ing, social media. For more information In September 2011, the Center for Social Media con- on the IACP Center for So- ducted its second annual survey of the U.S. law enforce- cial Media or to request resources, email socialmedia@ ment community. There were 800 law enforcement agen- theiacp.org or visit www.iacpsocialmedia.org.  cies from 49 states represented in the survey. Of these respondents, 88.1 percent indicated use of social media,

WWW.NW3C.ORG 23 Dallas Police Department Successfully Networks Via Social Media

By Elizabeth Singer

n February of 2011, Senior Corporal Melinda Gutier- In a recent conversation with Gutierrez, she stated that rez of the Dallas (TX) Police Department left the Fleet patrol officers and investigators often do not have time to Unit to take on the task of becoming the Department’s post information themselves, but can quickly share infor- Ifirst Social Media Officer. mation with her to post so they have another outlet to “The Department was joining the 21st Century and help with investigations and provide updates. However, my job was to help get us there,” said Gutierrez in a blog she often has to go back to them to get follow-up informa- that was posted on ConnectedCOPS.net, “Our social me- tion and success stories that she can share. dia sites are now allowing us to reach thousands of Dallas A recent success story was posted to Facebook cred- residents and to get information rapidly out to and receive iting their followers for providing tips that led to the feedback and assistance from our many followers.” identification and arrests of three multiple aggravated Gutierrez oversees 12 social media sites to include: robbery suspects that were pictured on the Depart- three Twitter™ accounts, eight Facebook® accounts, a You- ment's Facebook page. Tube® account and a Nixle® account. Each station within Gutierrez also explained that she uses a private Twit- the Dallas Police Department has its own account and ter account to quickly share information with police per- an officer that periodically posts to and monitors the site. sonnel rapidly and efficiently. She stated that items usually Gutierrez has the ultimate responsibility for the oversight sent out on this account range from retirement and award of all accounts that are affiliated with the Department. announcements to fundraisers and information regarding She provided some examples of items that get posted sick or injured officers. to their networks, including surveillance videos of cases If you visit the Dallas Police Department’s Facebook where homicide or robbery units are asking for the pub- page (www.facebook.com/DallasPD) you will see timely lic’s help, department-sponsored events and fundraisers, information, including pictures of wanted persons, up- award announcements and press releases. She also uses coming events and even conversations with victims of their “Notes” page on Facebook to post answers to ques- fraud guiding them to resources for help. The Department tions most commonly asked, from “How to Commend an posted a recent firing of a police officer and other news that Officer” to “Obtaining Offense and Accident Reports.” may not be perceived as positive, but it shows their follow- To save time, she linked their Facebook account to their ers that they are open in their posts, which in turn can help Twitter account, so Facebook posts automatically update build more trust with the community. on Twitter. Some of the Dallas Police Department’s social networks Most law enforcement agencies that are involved with can be viewed at: social media will advise that you need to create a social me- • www.youtube.com/user/DallasPoliceDept dia policy. These are often internal, but Gutierrez shares her • www.facebook.com/DallasPD take down policy for inappropriate posts to their Facebook • http://twitter.com/DallasPD accounts on their information page. This lets followers know • http://local.nixle.com/dallas-police-department  what types of comments and photos will not be permitted.

24 INFORMANT: SPRING/SUMMER 2012 Graphic Courtesy of:

A HOW DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS r ARE INTERACTING ONLINE M E

Who uses the social Web? -qq

MOST ONLINE INTERACTION TAKES PLACE ON THE SOCIAL WEB ( FACEBOOK, TWITTER verage ge of sers er ite . A A U P S ETC.). HERE'S THE AGE DISTRIBUTION ACROSS THE SOCIAL WEB:

0-17 15% 1

If L •I. 18-24 19% 1 'L

35-44 125%

THE AVERAGE FACEBOOK THE AVERAGE TWITTER 45-54 1 19% USER IS USER IS

55-64 110% II 11 11 11 11 II II II

Twitter user breakdown by age 65+ -44 13%

Age-Based Behavior on Twitter - FlAd 45-54 17 85% of Users 18 - 24 Follow Friends. 35-44 27% More users aged 18 - 24 follow celebrities (54%) than follow family members (29%).

18-25 13% Teens don’t use twitter as much as adults because the service is more about connecting to contacts and brands than interacting 13-17 4% with friends.

fouRCFe. UI'IbOUte.]...faepn.w..eon roral.p/ngoom.eo ,w RIep.IUespoteem Since more adults already use twitter, more adults are inclined to pl..lS.eoe • lnRfp . np.nr .eo.u. • A.If.rlnypllyelT.eon 'AWtry it out. So it remains primarily an adult network. Facebook User Breakdown by Age -qq 14 Age-Based Behavior on Facebook 55 + 7% Teens have twice as many friends than users aged 30 - 40.

Teens make almost 3x as many wall posts as users aged 40 - 50. 35-44 18% Users in their early 20’s list the most activites in their profile of any age group...... ------

Younger people express more negative emotions, and swear more, than older users. 26-34 23% They use more personal pronouns and possessives (“I”, “my”, ETC.) and talk more about school.

Older people write longer updates, use more prepositions and articles, and talk I more about other people including their families...... 13-17 11% 11-0-1 Users aged 27 and 28 have the most uploaded photos, with an average of 510. Users in their 40’s upload about as many photos as those in their 20’s, but are tagged in photos 281% less.

WWW.NW3C.ORG 25 ProtectingProtecting YourselfYourself inin aa SocialSocial Media-drivenMedia-driven World World 3 By NW C Research Staff

Ask yourself three simple questions: we choose to reveal, our professional and personal lives can be accessed with the click of a mouse via Facebook®, 1. How would your best friend describe you to a LinkedIn®, Twitter®, Foursquare® and many other web- stranger? sites. Our names can appear in online news articles, peti- 2. How would a long-term colleague describe you tions and group memberships, and we can take part in to a stranger? countless other communities on the Internet. 3. How would a stranger describe you at first With all of the potential online exposure, many of you glance? likely have your fair share of cyber snippets giving oth- Finding the right words to describe someone is an art ers a clue about what you like, where you work and even requiring a great deal of insight and tact. As psycholo- where you live. gists have known for decades, how we view ourselves and Given the nature of the data available, cyber criminals how others view us often depend on a variety of factors, could forge our online identities to steal money, apply for including our experiences, environment and motivations. credit or commit all kinds of Internet crimes. Also, while That is, until now. only 26 percent of employers use social networking to With the advent of social media, we can provide our screen job applicants, it is still a good idea for you to have friends and the entire Internet with an online repre- a clean online profile when you embark on a job search, as sentation of who we are that remains remarkably static more employers use this screening technique. over time, regardless of our moods. Depending on what To maximize all the benefits of social and professional networking, while minimizing risk, you should first take stock of what your current online identity says about you and whether or not you want to change those statements. The best way to take stock of your online identity is by using a search engine to investigate yourself. Most of us have done this at one time or another for fun, but now we have to do it with a more critical eye. Look through the first five to 10 pages of results to see what information is out there about you, and whether it casts you in a positive or negative light. There may be information you do not want made public. In that case, see if you can claim creative ownership of it. Is it a blog rant, a nasty review or a picture lifted from your Facebook page? If so, you can claim copyright ownership and request the information be removed. If you do not own the information, a polite email to the website

26 INFORMANT: SPRING/SUMMER 2012 owner should help you get the content removed. Officials that are in law enforcement or the legal industry need to take extra precautions to keep their profiles Social Media clean and private from those with whom you do not want to share information. Today, pictures can provide geolo- cation information, friends can tag you in a photo that is Protection Tips not private, a simple post may be taken out of context and more. Also, you may think that what you post on your personal networks will not get back to you as an officer of While it’s impossible to completely safeguard yourself from being victimized online, the following tips can give the law, but it can. If you have a professional and personal you reasonable protection from being victimized on a so- online existence the two may be intertwined. cial media site. Many officers have lost their jobs because of inappropriate behavior online and others have posted comments 1. Use caution when you click links that you receive to their personal pages that were later linked to their role in messages on your social website. Treat links in messages on these sites as you would links in email as an officer. A disclaimer will not prevent someone from messages. reposting your comment and attributing it to a law enforcement official. It is best to keep that in mind when 2. Know what you've posted about yourself. A com- you post comments, pictures or other information that mon way that hackers break into financial or other accounts is by clicking the "Forgot your password?" may be questionable or inappropriate for law enforce- link on the account login page. If the site allows, ment personnel. make up your own password questions, and don't If you are wondering what kind of information should draw them from material anyone could find with a stay or go, this “keep it clean” list will make things simple quick search. for you, and you will finish your online housekeeping in 3. Avoid giving away email addresses of your friends and no time at all. do not allow social networking services to scan your There are a few easy steps to take to keep your online email address book. identity clean: 4. Type the address of your social networking site di- 1. Think before posting. If you think your grandpar- rectly into your browser or use your personal book- ents would be appalled about what they read or marks. If you click a link to your site through email see, maybe you should not post it. or another website, you might be entering your ac- 2. Things are not always as private as they seem. count name and password into a fake site where your Even with the most stringent of privacy settings, personal information could be stolen. employers often can find ways around them. 5. Be selective about who you accept as a friend on a 3. Get a professional social networking profile on social network. Identity thieves might create fake sites such as LinkedIn or Monster®. That way, profiles in order to get information from you. when a prospective employer does an online 6. Choose your social network carefully. Evaluate the search on you, that information comes up first. site that you plan to use and make sure you under- If your online footprint is extensive, there are a host of stand the privacy policy. Find out if the site monitors “reputation cleaning” companies available to do the job content that people post. for you. A simple Internet search for “online reputation 7. Assume that everything you put on a social network- management service” will provide you with many compa- ing site is permanent. Even if you can delete your ac- nies to consider. count, anyone on the Internet can easily print photos With a clean online footprint, you can then show the or text or save images and videos to a computer. world who you are – or at least who you are online. This 8. Be careful about installing extras on your site. Many requires a little strategy and creativity on your part; social networking sites allow you to download third- however, it is not as difficult as you think. In the mean- party applications that let you do more with your per- time, learn about how you can sharpen your edge for sonal page. Criminals sometimes use these applica- your agency and become social media and Web 2.0-sav- tions to steal your personal information. vy by visiting the Center for Social Media, an initiative 9. Turn the geotagging feature off. This is the most di- by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, at rect solution and you can find out how to do this for www.iacpsocialmedia.org.  most phones. 

WWW.NW3C.ORG 27 Jan Lynn Owen Appointed as Commissioner of the California Department of Corporations

ast December, California Gov- Department’s enforcement efforts have resulted in more than ernor Jerry Brown appointed 400 years of prison sentences. Jan Lynn Owen as Commis- Another major responsibility of the Department involves Lsioner of the California Department of the regulation of business and consumer lending, including Corporations, which protects consum- mortgage lending. One of Owen’s top priorities is to effec- ers and provides services to businesses tively implement the National Mortgage Settlement agree- engaged in financial transactions. ment to obtain relief and justice for victims of inappropriate The Department was the first of lending and foreclosure practices. over 300 western members to join the Owen also said the Department must keep its finger on National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) over 20 years the pulse of emerging trends and risks, such as those spawned ago. “The National White Collar Crime Center looks forward by new technologies. One example she cited was “crowd- to working with Commissioner Owen in her important role funding,” which involves the pooling of a group’s resources to with the California Department of Corporations,” NW3C support a common purpose. Usually initiated and conducted Director Don Brackman said. via the Internet, crowdfunding may support a wide variety of Owen assumes her new role after decades spent work- purposes, ranging from disaster relief to the funding of a rock ing in the public and private sector. Her impressive resume band’s world tour. It presents both risks for consumers and includes work as Strategic Initiatives Manager at Apple Inc., challenges for regulators, Owen explained. Under her leader- Vice President of Government Affairs at JP Morgan Chase, ship, the Department will continue to proactively warn con- State Director of Government and Industry Affairs at Wash- sumers of the risks associated with investments of this type. ington Mutual Inc., Executive Director of the California “As crowdfunding and other financial trends emerge, the De- Mortgage Bankers Association, and Acting Commissioner of partment works to ensure small businesses – which make up the California Department of Financial Institutions. a majority of our licensees – can succeed in a safe financial “I owe my best efforts to provide a safe, sound and healthy marketplace, and that lawbreakers are quickly and severely financial services marketplace for all Californians,” Owen punished for abusing public trust,” Owen said. The partner- said of her role as Commissioner of Corporations. “One part ship with NW3C will allow the Department to equip both its of that effort is involvement with NW3C.” staff and community leaders with the knowledge needed to The California Department of Corporations licenses ensure an efficient and accessible financial services market- and regulates a variety of businesses, including securities place in California, to educate the public about the risks and brokers and dealers, investment advisers and financial rewards of investing and to protect the public from fraud. planners, and certain fiduciaries and lenders. The Depart- Director Brackman stressed the importance of NW3C’s ment regulates the offer and sale of securities, franchises longstanding involvement with the California Department of and off-exchange commodities. Corporations. “NW3C will continue to provide the Depart- In the last decade, the Department has brought approxi- ment with the cutting-edge training and analytical support mately 5,905 enforcement actions against people or com- services that enable it to stay ahead of trends, protect con- panies perpetrating frauds, making misrepresentations and sumers and investors and ensure prosecution for offenders,” pursuing predatory practices. In the past two years alone, the Director Brackman said.

New NW3C Website Launched July 1, 2012 > Improved navi ation and design CS > Better organic i > Updated cont Ell F- > Integration wi > Members site combined wi h main site 3c.org

28 INFORMANT: SPRING/SUMMER 2012 Social Media: An Investigative Gold Mine By Dr. Marcus K. Rogers, CISSP, DFCP, CCCI, ACE he staggering growth of tion using the process of analytics, we can construct a very social media such as Face- accurate personal narrative of the individual in question. book and Twitter has been This personal narrative, allows an investigator to de- Tboth a blessing and a curse. The termine if an alibi is true or not (e.g., I was at the coffee near breakneck speed in which the shop when the crime took place – GPS/Location Services younger generation has embraced logs on their smartphone can be examined). It can be used social media has resulted in new or to connect the dots regarding their personal social net- at least modified types of criminal work (i.e., friends and acquaintances), or even be used to activity. We now have to deal with catch someone in an online “sting” operation. cyber-bullying, cyber-stalking, online-predatory offenders Given the current trends, the use of social media will and so on. However, from an investigative prospective, so- only increase. We as investigators need to become famil- cial media is a cornucopia of potential evidence. iar with the workings of the different technologies that There has been a lot of discussion around the con- fall under the umbrella of social media, and what type of cept of our carbon footprint and its impact on the envi- data/evidence is potentially available. For the most part, ronment, but little if any discussion directed toward our the companies that are involved in social media have been “digital footprint.” Today’s generation lives a large por- sensitive to the potential abuses their technology can be tion of its life online, either by texting, updating status, used for and thus have been reasonably cooperative with using online calendars, or sharing physical location via law enforcement. As more of these technologies and ser- one of the numerous social media apps that are available. vices become housed in the looming “cloud,” let’s hope that The result of all this is that now not only do the market- this cooperation at least remains at the level it is at today. ers have an increasing amount of data that they can use to A word of caution is necessary regarding using social predict consumer trends, we as investigators have access media for investigative purposes: not everything that is to almost complete daily histories of suspects’ activities. posted or even logged is necessarily true or completely ac- We can literally determine what time someone rises curate. Just as with other technologies, we as investigators in the morning, what news media they look at over their need to validate the evidence and be certain that it is a true breakfast coffee, their exact physical location, and what and accurate representation of the facts.  they had for lunch and supper. By combining this informa- Have you thought about reaching out to NW3C Investigative Support Services for help on your case?

Did you know that a highly trained NW3C analyst can assist you with your white collar, high-tech, cybercrime and crimes against children cases?

Our analysts are available to assist member agencies that may be working cases that cross jurisdictions and states. Our analysts are frequently called upon to assist in: • Establishing financial transaction patterns; • Developing possible links between criminal targets and associated criminal activity; and • Providing link charts, timelines and graphs for court presentations

To learn more call 800-221-4424 or

I visit www.nw3c.org

WWW.NW3C.ORG 29 IC3 Alerts

Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3®) Alerts

IC3 compiles complaint data to prepare public service announcements about the latest trends in Internet fraud. The scam alerts are sent to the media, law enforcement and other industry partners. Below are some of the latest scams and fraud alerts that IC3 has posted.

Government Officials' Identities Used Timeshare Fraud Costs Victims also have a connection to the resale On Social Networking Sites Millions company, raising the possibility that C3 has seen an increase in the use imeshare owners receive unex- timeshare owners are being scammed  Iof U.S. government officials’ names Tpected or uninvited telephone twice by the same people. and photos in fraudulent social net- calls or emails from criminals posing Mystery Shopper Scam To Evaluate working profiles. Online scammers use as sales representatives for a timeshare Wire Transfer Services these accounts to appear reputable and resale company. The representative to befriend potential victims. Then, the promises a quick sale, often in 60 to C3 recently received over 250 scammer expresses a romantic interest 90 days. The sales representatives of- Icomplaints reporting an online and begins to ask for money. Believing ten use high-pressure tactics to add employment scam that involves indi- they are involved in a genuine relation- a sense of urgency to the deal. Some viduals who responded to online ads ship, victims end up repeatedly wiring victims have reported that sales repre- or were contacted via email as a result funds to the scammer.  sentatives pressured them by claiming of their resume being posted on job there was a buyer waiting in the wings, websites. The perpetrator posed as a Modeling Scam either on the other line or even present research company and requested par- ecently, IC3 has received several in the office. ticipants to complete a paid survey Rreports from people who have Timeshare owners who agree to regarding services provided at wire received unsolicited emails offering sell are told they must pay an upfront transfer locations to improve the ef- them a modeling position. The emails fee to cover anything from listing and fectiveness of the company's money- contained a link to what appeared to advertising fees to closing costs. Many transfer services. be a website for a legitimate model- victims have provided credit cards to Complainants were hired and then ing agency. Recipients were asked to pay the fees, which range from a few mailed a cashier's check or money or- click the link to log on and create an hundred to a few thousand dollars. der. They received instructions to cash account. Afterwards, victims report- Once the fee is paid, timeshare own- the check/money order at their local edly realized the link was to a fraudu- ers report that the company becomes bank, keep a portion as payment and lent website and that their computers evasive – calls go unanswered, num- wire the remaining amount via wire had possibly become infected with a bers are disconnected and websites are transfer to a designated recipient. Vic- keylogger (software that tracks what a inaccessible. tims were then asked to immediately person types). In some cases, timeshare owners email their employer with the trans- Other complainants reported they who have been defrauded by a time- fer number, amount wired, recipient's were told they would make $7,000 for share sales scheme have been subse- name and address and the name of a photo shoot. However, they were quently contacted by an unscrupulous the wire transfer location evaluated. asked to first pay up-front "fees" to cov- timeshare fraud recovery company as Upon sending the information, vic- er registration, licensing, clothes, pho- well. Some recovery companies re- tims received a questionnaire form tos and more. Victims were instructed quire an up-front fee for services ren- regarding their overall wire transfer to wire their fees. Once the fees were dered while others promise no fees experience to complete and return. wired, complainants were requested to will be paid unless a refund is obtained Those who did not promptly follow pay additional fees, but were promised for the timeshare owner. IC3 has iden- through with the instructions received they would be paid half of their salary tified some instances where people threatening emails stating if they did up front before the photo shoot.  involved with the recovery company not respond within 24 hours, their in-

30 INFORMANT: SPRING/SUMMER 2012 IC3 Alerts formation would be forwarded to the Pox Party Online Advertisements rea, Ireland or Canada. After the funds FBI and they could face 25 years in ecently, IC3 received a complaint are wired overseas, the checks are de- jail. Shortly after the transactions, vic- Rfrom an individual reporting an termined to be counterfeit. tims were informed by their banks that advertisement on a social media site In a slight variation of the scheme's the checks were counterfeit and were that offered ways to obtain "natural execution, the victim law firm re- held responsible for reimbursing their immunity" from the chicken pox by ceives an email from what appears to banks. Most victims owed their bank sharing lollipops licked by children be an attorney located in another state  over $2,500. infected with the virus. Parents have requesting assistance for a client. The been known to take their child to a client needs aid in collecting a debt Spam Referencing U.S. Military Mem- from a company located in the vic- bers and Gaddafi "Pox Party" as an alternative to vacci- nating children from varicella, other- tim law firm's state. In some cases, the raudsters, claiming to be U.S. mil- wise known as chicken pox, but send- name of the referring attorney and Fitary contractors working in Lib- ing virus-covered lollipops through the debtor company used in the email ya, sent unsolicited emails claiming the mail is against federal law. The were verified as legitimate entities and that several metal boxes were found social media site posted a disclaimer were being used as part of the scheme. in cellars of high-rise buildings built on their page stating that they have The law firm receives a signed retainer and occupied by Muammar Gad- never condoned the mailing of infec- agreement and a check made payable dafi. Each box purportedly contained tious diseases.  to the law firm from the alleged debt- large sums of money, in addition to or. The client instructs the law firm guns, armor, bullets and drugs. The U.S. Law Firms Continue to be the to deposit the check and to wire the emails requested the recipient’s as- Target of a Counterfeit Check Scheme funds, minus all fees, to an overseas sistance with transferring the money C3 continues to receive reports of bank account. The law firm discovers, out of Libya. The fraudsters also told Icounterfeit check schemes targeting after the funds are wired, the check is the email recipients that they were U.S. law firms. The scammers contact counterfeit. expected to receive, secure and pro- lawyers via email, claiming to be over- Anyone who believes they have tect the boxes until the overseas as- seas and requesting legal representa- been a victim of fraud or scams signment elapsed and promised the tion in collecting a debt from third should promptly report it to www.ic3. victims a 30 percent profit. Often in parties located in the U.S. The law gov. The IC3 database links complaints online scams, once communication firms receive a retainer agreement and together and refers them to the ap- with the fraudsters begins, they will a check payable to the law firm. The propriate law enforcement agency request personal information, includ- firm is instructed to deposit the check, for case consideration. For more in- ing but not limited to bank account take out retainer fees, and wire the re- formation about online scams and details, claiming funds are needed to maining funds to banks in China, Ko- what you can do to avoid them, go to cover various expenses.  www.ic3.gov. 

TM Training Online

Get the information and skills you need to extract investigative leads and case-related information from the IC3 database. The Internet Complaint Search and Investigation System (ICSIS) training is now available online. The course gives you an expanded knowledge of the database and introduces you to tools that can be used to build cases during investigations and much more. To obtain access to the ICSIS online training, please contact IC3 Manager Kathryn Rinker at [email protected]. Or to learn more about the ICSIS training, go to: wwwwww.nw3c.org/ocr/courses_desc.cfm?cn=ICSIS.nw3c.org/ocr/courses-desc.cfm?cn=ICSIS

WWW.NW3C.ORG 31 National White Collar Crime Center www.nw3c.org

10900 Nuckols Road, Suite 325 5000 NASA Blvd., Suite 2400 Glen Allen, VA 23060 Fairmont, WV 26554 (800) 221-4424 (877) 628-7674

In our next issue:

• NW3C Board of Directors Chairman Glen Gainer serves the state of West Vir- ginia as auditor, but he also has a long history in ensuring that governments, law enforcement and the general public have the tools and resources that they need to prevent and fight fraud, scams and other white collar crimes. Read more about his life’s work, his plans for the future and how they will benefit those who are fighting white collar crime. • Delve into the world of smartphones and uncover some of the good and bad about this technology. Identity theft, intellectual property crimes and malware are just some of the issues that smartphone users face. The issue will identify some of the challenges facing forensic investigators associated with this new technology. • Laundering money has a new friend in money cards. NW3C is working with experts to uncover information on this issue that can benefit law enforcement. All this and more in the Fall 2012 issue of the Informant!

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Search: @NW3CNews NationalWhiteCollarCrime

IATIONAL WHITE COLLAR CRIME ?A QP > ?LdRC6 Bureau of Justice Assistance I N T E U.S. Department of Justice 32 INFORMANT: SPRING/SUMMER 2012