The Informant

Your concern is duly noted! While I strongly suspe...

2009-11-17T11:42:41.832-05:00

Your concern is duly noted! While I strongly suspect prosecutors consulted with a forensics expert before dropping the charges, we cannot say with absolutely certainty that the accused was in fact at the keyboard when the posts were recorded. This precedent-setting case obviously cuts both ways!

I do not wish to imply that in this case the defen...

2009-11-13T17:00:49.550-05:00

I do not wish to imply that in this case the defendant is guilty, but my concern with this ruling is the same that we in law enforcement deal with daily. It is known that the posts were made, but how can we be certain, beyond a doubt, that the defendant was the one behind the keyboard? Facebook IT can not state that fact, only that "the keystrokes" were entered as mentioned in the story...

Just recently, I received an email from a friend o...

2009-09-15T16:48:24.059-04:00

Just recently, I received an email from a friend or what I thought was a friend. It turned out to be a scam though:

http://report-online-scams.com/blog/2009/09/hpv-cervix-cancer-facebook-scam/

Please watch out there are many types of scam on Facebook.

I do run a site that report scams online; I would be interested in networking with you here at nw3c.org. Please do visit us at http://www.report-online-scams.com

Thanks,
Garen

I am the victim of Fraud and FORD simply doesn't c...

2009-06-30T16:27:18.530-04:00

I am the victim of Fraud and FORD simply doesn't care. I provided them with police reports, investigations, among other information and they simply don't care. I am very disappointed that a company like FORD who is basically trying to get money from me for a debt that is not mine. FORD is an uncompassionate company with little desire for anything other than money.

I couldn't agree more! The scammers are really ca...

2009-06-21T12:11:42.372-04:00

I couldn't agree more! The scammers are really cashing in on the fact that so many people are looking for additional ways to make some money.

Dear Scott and Larry, I wrote this article and I...

2009-05-28T19:19:40.185-04:00

Dear Scott and Larry,

I wrote this article and I appreciate your comments.

It is of interest to this organization whenever a recidivist criminal organization faces credible, new allegations of misconduct, especially when millions of taxpayer dollars and the lives of U.S. soldiers are at risk.

KBR is such a known corporate criminal. Its criminal history is well documented. In addition to settling lawsuits out of court dealing with fraudulent accounting practices and overcharges to the U.S. government, KBR has pled guilty to charges of bribery under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. (You can read about KBR's criminal history here: http://www.contractormisconduct.org/index.cfm/1,73,221,html?ContractorID=29&ranking=10).

Certainly, any corporation named in 32 cases of suspected over-billing, bribery, and other violations since 2004 presents itself as blog material at an organization devoted to all things white collar crime. (And, yes, there is a lot more to this story. Just follow the links I provided throughout the article. You can check the facts and learn more about KBR’s trouble with the law.)

Contra Larry, I make no accusations against Mr. Cheney. I mention him only in passing in order to identify KBR’s former parent company, Halliburton.(Cheney was once the CEO of Halliburton—a fact.) But I have reluctantly agreed to remove this reference to Cheney in order to obviate frivolous accusations of imagined political or ideological biases.(For the record, I have no party affiliation or attraction.)

My blog traffics in facts. The accusations of fraud against KBR have been made by the Pentagon’s own auditors—a fact. The allegations of shoddy electrical work are based on an assessment of an inspector hired by the DoD. These facts are simply stated in my blog, without further commentary. I also quote those who speak in defense of KBR's work. I therefore fail to see how my relaying this information about a known corporate criminal automatically makes my blog a partisan hack job. Were the auditors at the Defense Department motivated by their hatred of the GOP to find evidence of fraud? No more than I was in sharing this information. I believe that they, like me, were doing their job.

Best regards,

Rodney

What is the purpose of this post? It looks more po...

2009-05-28T14:03:02.422-04:00

What is the purpose of this post?
It looks more political than informative to fraud investigators. This company was a subsidary of Haliburton, which Vice President Cheney was once connected to, what does this have to do with the fraud? Is the poster saying that Vice President Dick Cheney is responsible for the fraud? If so where is the evidence.
This is a political post, slamming Mr. Cheney and the Republican Party.
I just requested memebership to this organization, but if it is polically attached to any party and spews only Democrat idealogy, then I dont want any part of it. I want an answer back from whomever is in charge of these post. I deal in facts not inuendo and vague informaton.

Cash gifting is a felony crime, accoridng to the S...

2009-05-26T17:55:00.143-04:00

Cash gifting is a felony crime, accoridng to the States and the SEC.

And they are currently being cracked down upon very hard by the FBI and NSA.

I didn't see anything in the posting describing pr...

2009-05-26T14:37:48.064-04:00

I didn't see anything in the posting describing precisely who was convicted of what white collar crime. Is there something more to this story? Or is it presumed that the Informant wishes to traffic in any white collar crime that is merely alleged, irrespective of whether an actual conviction results or not?

The hardest part is getting started! We often put ...

2009-05-21T15:16:48.970-04:00

The hardest part is getting started! We often put off doing the things that our communitis desperately need because we are afraid to step outside of our "comfort zone".

This is a great example (and an easy one to follow) of how a little effort on our part can go a very long way in making our children, homes, and communities a better, safter place to live.

Great article! These are exactly the types of sca...

2009-05-16T17:10:00.096-04:00

Great article! These are exactly the types of scams we see people getting pulled into on a daily basis. The checks look so good that they fool the employees at the bank, and the person who brought the check in is told that it is good and that makes them feel safe about going forward with the rest of the transaction.

It is sad to say, but I hear stories like this eve...

2009-05-12T20:24:04.279-04:00

It is sad to say, but I hear stories like this every day from the people that come to our site, ScamVictimsUnited.com

When people see the red flags of a scam and are then worried about the check, they do just what you did . . . take it to someone that they DO trust . . . their bank.

I am glad that you can see just why education about the TRUE meaning of banking terms is so important.

Shawn, Your article is so true. What surprises me...

2009-05-11T16:31:08.541-04:00

Shawn,

Your article is so true. What surprises me is that the banks are not held more accountable.

I have personally tested this process, and being in LE I careful documented my steps and preserved the evidence.

I responded to a part-time employment advertisement on www.monster.com, was 'accepted' and soon after received a check to cash for my new employer. The check arrived via Fed Ex from New York, and shipping was paid for using a Fed Ex account number.

The check, written on the account of an East Coast utility company looked convincing. I contacted not only the issuing bank, but also the issuing company and was told by both that the account numbers and check was good and able to be cashed. Now you can imagine my surprise! I contacted the issuing company a second time, spoke with a different person in the accounting department, and again was told the check was good. I also put a call in to the security department of the issuing company and awaited a call back.

Next step was to deposit the check. I opened a new personal account with a minimum balance, and then deposited the check, which was accepted no problem.

In line with your writing, the check then cleared less than 3 days later, and I had over $4000.00 USD available in my account.

It was not until about 4 weeks later that I found out the check had been reversed. How did I find out? The bank sent me an overdraft letter! In review, they had reversed the deposit amount, charged me a returned check fee of $50.00, and then an overdraft fee of $25.00!!! Not only was I out my $4000.00, but the initial $25.00 and an additional $50.00 in fee's.

I visited the bank in person, explained the situation to the bank manager and he was able to reverse all of the charges and reinstate my $25.00. When I quized him further, he stated the following:
-In regards to wanting information on the check and where it came from, the bank was not interested. As long as they got their money back they were happy.
-I also asked what would happen if I had withdrawn the money and closed the account after the check had cleared, and he said he did not know. He further stated that there would probably be nothing they could do to get it back.

After all this had happened, I did get a call back from the security department of the issuing company. They were calling me to advise that the check was NO good, and not to cash it...oops, a little late! I explained the progression with them and they also were not interested in pursing anything.

Unfortunately, people are going to fall prey to these scams. It astounds me that the banks have the ability to say, here is your money, but then at a whim, say, oops, no it is not. Can you think of any other company you do business with having this ability? Giving you something and then taking it back with warning or justification. What if Ford sold you a car, and then came and took it in the middle of the night saying they made a mistake?

Excellent Point! You ask a good question, and you...

2009-05-07T16:02:55.666-04:00

Excellent Point! You ask a good question, and you propose a very sensible idea of teaching kids awareness to help them avoid becoming victims of fraud. The NetSmartz material introduces a character to the children called the Oogle. The oogle is always nosing around trying to learn information about you. The Oogle may send you fake contests just to steal your information! So, yes, the idea of fraud and victim avoidance is introduced.

NetSmartz also teaches children that you never really know who you are talking to on the Internet, so you NEVER give out your personal information which is defined as your name, age, address, phone number, school you attend, baseball team, and so on.

Does NetSmartz have information on scams and fraud...

2009-05-07T13:25:42.128-04:00

Does NetSmartz have information on scams and fraud in their program? I feel that if we start to teach this is the schools now, and show the children the red flags and warning signs to look for, we can help to protect the next generation from internet scams and fraud.

confused kiwi~ Absolutely! NetSmartz is a comple...

2009-05-06T14:40:07.040-04:00

confused kiwi~

Absolutely! NetSmartz is a complete, already defined curriculum that you can walk into a school with and start the delivery. You can visit http://www.netsmartz.org and click on educator or law enforcement to access the FREE software and learning materials to start teaching Internet safety in your schools. There are other Internet safety programs available as well, but this is the one I am familiar with. I have found it to be very effective. Please post again here once you have looked at the NetSmartz website.

Good Luck!

I agree 100%. We are a very small local LE agency ...

2009-05-06T10:14:01.488-04:00

I agree 100%. We are a very small local LE agency and I am looking at offering something to our schools and civic groups. Does anyone have a curriculum already defined and available that we could walk into a school and deliver?

This really drives home the adage, “Think before y...

2009-05-05T22:05:20.943-04:00

This really drives home the adage, “Think before you post”. The huge popularity of social networking sites, and our sometimes “quick” clicks could lead to trouble for some. Everyone needs to stop and think about what they are posting and where it might end up. Remember that businesses and even colleges are checking the social networking sites for perspective employees/students. What you post does matter!

It is so vitally important that we do educate the ...

2009-05-05T21:59:09.634-04:00

It is so vitally important that we do educate the children of the dangers that are lurking out there on the Internet. We need to equip them with every thing that we can to ensure their safety and well being no matter if it is in the real world or the cyber world. Parents need to take an active roll and part of law enforcements job is to make training and education available for them! The resources listed are a great place to start.