NEWS FROM North Central Florida's Congressman CLIFF STEARNS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 23, 2001 CONTACT: PAUL FLUSCHE (202) 225-5744 STEARNS HOLDS HEARING ON CYBER FRAUD SUBCOMMITTEE ASKS TOP FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS - ARE CONSUMERS SAFE? WASHINGTON, MAY 23, 2001 - Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), Chairman of the Commerce, Trade & Consumer Protection Subcommittee, today held a hearing examining cyber fraud and crime. "With any major technological development, new types of fraud and crime make their debut as criminals adapt to take advantage of the new technology," said Stearns. "Combating these new challenges may require new thinking on the part of law enforcement." Representatives from the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Federal Trade Commission, and U.S. Secret Service testified during the first panel. Stearns lauded the FBI for its recent nationwide crackdown on Internet crime. Today, the Justice Department announced that charges have been filed against 90 individuals and companies for fraud schemes victimizing 56,000 people. Added Stearns, "The breadth and scope of this operation is most impressive. I commend the FBI and all other federal and local law enforcement agencies for combating cyber fraud and crime." The hearing highlighted the types of fraud used against unsuspecting consumers and efforts by industry and law enforcement to protect online systems. Thomas Kubic, the FBI's Deputy Assistant Director, defined Internet fraud as "any fraudulent scheme in which one or more components of the Internet, such as web sites, chat rooms, and e-mail, play a significant role in offering non-existent goods or services to consumers, communicating false or fraudulent representation about the schemes to consumers, or transmitting victims' funds, access devices, or other items of value to the control of the scheme's perpetrators." "I believe that effective enforcement in tandem with greater consumer education and awareness and industry action spells out an effective recipe for protecting against and combating cyber fraud and crime," concluded Stearns. ### ---
