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Operation Global Con: 3 million victims and $1 billion in losses

Posted on May 23, 2006 by Tom Fragala

From U.S. Newswire, a press release announcing a crack down on a huge number of scams in the U.S. The fraudulent schemes investigated accounted for nearly 3 million victims through criminals operating in the US, Canada, Cost Rica and Holland.

More than 565 people in North and South America and Europe have been arrested as part of "Operation Global Con" -- the largest and most far-reaching multinational enforcement operation ever directed at mass-marketing fraud schemes, the Department of Justice announced today.

The ongoing action began on March 1, 2005, and involved unprecedented coordination by law enforcement agencies at the national and international levels. "Operation Global Con" targeted mass-marketing schemes that were international in scope and impact, were conducted by criminal groups, and generated significant proceeds. The schemes were carried out through various methods, such as telemarketing, the Internet and mass mailings. The wide variety of schemes uncovered during the operation included so-called "419" advance-fee schemes; foreign currency trading; bogus lottery, prize and sweepstakes schemes; offers of nonexistent investments; bogus offers of "pre-approved" credit cards or credit-card protection; and tax fraud schemes. The 96 separate U.S. investigations in this operation led to the discovery of more than 2.8 million victims, who suffered losses totaling more than $1 billion.

More from the U.S. Department of Justice. My only question—what about Eastern Europe? There is massive fraud originating in Russia and some of the former Soviet countries. I hope they are making some headway there. I wonder how troublesome it is working with law enforcement in those countries.