Friday, March 16, 2007
Task force will target financial crimes
Law enforcement agencies will team up with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to investigate identity theft, Internet scams, and similar crimes.
Virginia State Police Capt. George "Stick" Austin had $13,048 stolen from his credit card account in less than 12 hours.
Austin, commander of the Salem division's Bureau of Criminal Investigations, was one of about 70 victims of a credit card theft ring in which restaurant employees in Botetourt County and Roanoke County were secretly swiping cards through a card reader during legitimate purchases and then using the stolen credit card numbers.
Austin's experience shows how easy it is for anyone to become a victim of financial fraud, which is one reason local and federal authorities have formed a joint task force to fight such crimes as identity theft, computer fraud and "phishing."
Thursday morning, U.S. Attorney John Brownlee and Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell announced the creation of the Roanoke Valley Financial Crime Task Force.
"Any one of us can be a victim of these types of crimes," Brownlee said.
The task force is intended to improve coordination among law enforcement agencies so that, for example, two agencies won't end up investigating the same identity theft ring without knowing it.
Headed by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the task force will have an office at the Rutherford Avenue post office in Roanoke.
The task force also will be a central source of information to help people avoid becoming victims of identity theft and Internet scams. It's modeled after a similar task force in Richmond.
U.S. Postal Inspector Dave McGinnis, who oversees both the Roanoke and Richmond task forces, said the new task force's Web site will offer a wealth of information, including forms for victims to use to contact financial institutions and brochures about how to protect yourself from identity theft. The site is scheduled to be finished April 1.
Brownlee touted a federal identity theft law that carries a mandatory minimum punishment of two years in prison. Choosing federal or state prosecutions will be decided on a case-by-case basis. Brownlee hopes the task force will create experts within the various agencies who are fluent with both state and federal financial crime law.
In 2006, federal and state authorities received 12,039 fraud complaints in Virginia, and victims of such scams have lost more than $24 million, said Brownlee spokeswoman Heidi Coy.
Agencies involved in the task force include the Roanoke, Roanoke County and Salem police departments; Virginia State Police; the U.S. Secret Service; and U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
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