Cyber Crime Task Force - What Is It?

As society continues to use technology and the Internet for more than just email, the rise of threats to the safety of the technology has created a new type of crime, cyber crime. But the good news is that there are organizations that have been formed in order to investigate and prosecute those who participate in conducting cyber crime.

Cyber crime task forces can be local, such as task forces in Maine and Missouri, and they can be national, such as the FBI’s own unit dedicated to preventing cyber crime. In this article, learn about these different tasks forces, where they are and how they fight cyber crime.

Cyber Crime Task Forces

The purpose of cyber crime task forces is to prevent different types of crimes that take place online. This is not just limited to fraud that comes from online identity theft, also known as phishing, but also includes online threats such as viruses, bots and email scams.

According to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), billions of dollars are lost every year due to some sort of cyber crime that is perpetrated by hackers and other individuals who target computer users and large corporate organizations. With all of these targets and the dangers that come from being a potential victim, several divisions of the task force have been established in several cities, as well as branching off into a division of its own within the FBI.

National Task Force - FBI Cyber Crime Task Force

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The FBI has made a cyber division specifically for combating instances of online crime and fraud. This division, as mentioned above, handles all online crime that takes place, including identity theft and online scams. As the FBI, they also have listings of those cyber criminals that are currently wanted by the FBI for cyber crimes. Their website also has a variety of different articles about how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of cyber crime.

The US Justice Department has also devoted itself to stopping cyber crime, just like the FBI, by creating an online portal for learning and reporting instances of cyber crime.

Local Task Forces

While there are national steps being taken to stop cyber crime, at the local level there may or may not be a task force devoted to cyber crime within the local jurisdiction of your state or city. The best way to determine if your city or state has a cyber crime task force is to speak with your local law enforcement agency and ask if they have a division for cyber crime.

Reporting Cyber Crime

The best way to report an instance of a cyber crime is to contact a state or city’s local FBI office and report any suspicious online activity. The Justice Department and FBI can look up the local office for your city..

Despite an increase in crime committed online, there are steps being taken to ensure that more people do not become victims, and if they do become victims, these cyber crime task forces help them take the steps to get their lives back the way to normal.

Image Credit: Picture Courtesy of FBI.gov