| Internet
Fraud is a scheme to defraud in which the Internet is the primary
means of communication. This might entail the World Wide Web, Internet
Relay Chat (IRC), e-mail, or instant messaging. While there are no
federal laws specifically targeting Internet Fraud, the federal statutes
regarding Wire Fraud and Mail Fraud are employed to prosecute individuals
and/or companies using the Internet to perpetuate their schemes. These
two statutes are almost always implicated by any Internet Fraud.
The
Wire Fraud statute--Title 18, United States Code (USC), Section
1343--makes it illegal to cause any electrical signal to cross state
lines (including the borders of the United States as a whole) in
the course of a scheme to defraud. By the very nature of the Internet,
it is highly unlikely that any communication would not cross a state
line. Wire transfers--either through a bank or through a money transfer
agent such as Western Union--will in most circumstances be sufficient
to trigger 18 USC 1343 when such transfers are part of a scheme
to defraud.
The
Mail Fraud statute--18 USC 1341--makes it illegal to cause anything
to be sent through the U.S. mails in furtherance of a scheme to
defraud. For the purposes of this statute, items sent via commercial
carriers such as FedEx, United Parcel Service (UPS), DHL, and others
also implicate the Mail Fraud statute.
Implicit
in both statutes is the making of a false statement. It is not necessary
that the person executing the scheme be the one who initiates the
mailing or use of interstate wires--causing others to take such
action is sufficient to violate the statute. There is no dollar-value
minimum in either of these statutes. Both are felony-level crimes,
punishable by up to five years imprisonment, plus fines of up to
$250,000.
Other
federal statutes that are violated in common Internet Fraud schemes
are:
18
USC 1029, Access Device - Credit card numbers, Social Security Account
Numbers, Bank Account numbers, Dates of Birth, and even zip codes
or telephone numbers in some situations, can be considered Access
Devices.
18 USC 2314, Interstate Transportation of Stolen Property - Transporting
forged or counterfeit securities (e.g., cashier's checks) across
state lines is a violation of federal law which is punishable by
up to 10 years imprisonment, plus fines of up to $250,000.
18 USC 1344, Bank Fraud - Making false statements in the execution
of a scheme to defraud a Federally-insured financial institution
is punishable by up to 30 years imprisonment and fines up to $1,000,000.
In addition the these, other federal statutes may apply depending
on the circumstances of a particular crime. Also, the individual
states have laws which either address Internet Fraud specifically
or incorporate it under more general theories. Laws concerning Theft
by Deception, for example, do not generally distinguish between
the means to execute the Theft and so apply as readily to the Internet
as to more traditional confidence schemes.
In
the state of Florida, there are very strong laws concerning Identity
Theft. Those laws are often violated in Internet Fraud schemes which
involve credit cards. The penalties under Florida's laws can in
certain situations be much more severe than those available under
federal law.
Common
Internet Fraud schemes are explained here.
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