eBay Security Center - Poice Blotter
eBay have something called ‘Police Blotter’ where they seem to be saying that they are working hard to combat eBay fraud.
A few cases over many months does not seem much of a result for a ‘Global Law Enforcement Operations Team’
This is what they say.
“Message from the Global Law Enforcement Operations Team:
Hello! and welcome to the Global Law Enforcement Operations Police Blotter. Most Community members have not heard much about what eBay does behind the scenes to pursue, apprehend and prosecute fraudsters on ebay.com and paypal.com. The purpose of the Police Blotter is to share information with the Community about our efforts with law enforcement around the world. As you know, eBay Inc. is committed to creating a safe, well lit marketplace. When people break our policies, violate consumer trust and the law of the land, eBay and PayPal work with law enforcement agencies around the world to apprehend and prosecute fraudsters. For that reason, eBay created the Global Law Enforcement Operations team.
The cases below do not reflect all of our success stories. The cases have been chosen to provide you with examples of various cases where we have assisted law enforcement in convicting a fraudster. Please visit us again as we will update the Police Blotter every 6 weeks.
Employer’s Personal Information Stolen
Frank E. Roehrenbaeck is charged with stealing checks and personal information from the wallet of his employer. Mr. Roehrenbaeck proceeded to channel his employer’s funds to his own personal PayPal account and withdrew the funds through his bank account. The eBay/PayPal Investigator in California assisted the Merced Police Department by quickly identifying the financial accounts associated with the crime. Detective Mossoto from the Merced , California Police Department arrested Frank Roehrenbaeck on June 28, 2006 for bank fraud, wire fraud and Identity theft. In late October 2006, Mr. Roehenbaeck was sentenced to 7 years in prison for his crime.
Illegal Use of Credit Card Machine
Anthony Wolter is accused of crediting his PayPal debit card with a former employer’s credit card swipe machine. The case was initiated by the eBay/PayPal Fraud Investigation Team in California . The lead investigator contacted law enforcement with the case details and worked with Wells Fargo to identify the fraudulent transactions. When Mr. Wolter was approached by Detective Lake from the Tucson Police Department he fully confessed to the crime. In early January 2007, the accused pled guilty to credit card and bank fraud and was ordered to pay full restitution.
Stolen Goods Case in Cheshire , UK
Cheshire Constabulary, Kate Connelly and John Thompson headed a multi region investigation to combat a massive increase in the theft of Ford car stereos. The eBay Fraud Investigation Team in Dublin Ireland assisted the Cheshire Constabulary to conduct weekly searches of the site for new sellers offering this particular car stereo. The Dublin Fraud Investigation Team also worked very closely with the Cheshire Constabulary to support this large scale investigation. The two main suspects have now been arrested and convicted of handling 400 stolen car stereos. The arrest provided immediate relief to the region. In one town alone there was a 90% drop in car break-ins. The two main suspects were believed to have been responsible for a crime spree that spanned four counties.
Non Delivery of Apple iPods, UK
PC Matt Wilson of the Sussex Police advised us back in August 2006 the suspect Selina Speight was arrested for fraud and deception offenses. Ms. Speight listed ten 60 gig Apple iPods on eBay during January 2006 and did not ship out the items to buyers. The suspect denied all the charges and a case was prepared for the Crown Prosecution Service. A witness statement was also prepared by the Dublin Fraud Investigation Team to convince the Crown Prosecution Service that the case was worthy of a court appearance.
On December 6, 2006 PC Matt Wilson advised the suspect had appeared in court and pled guilty to all charges. Final charges are being finalized in early 2007.”
eBay Security Center: Law Enforcement Case Study
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