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Showing posts from June, 2017

FBI Publishes 2016 Internet Crime Report

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) recently published its 2016 Internet Crime Report . Here are a few interesting facts from the document:  In 2016, the IC3 received 298,728 complaints of internet crimes, with reported losses of over $1.3 billion. Non-payment/non-delivery was the most widely reported category of crime, with 81,029 victims. In this type of crime, a person either fails to pay for goods received (non-payment) or takes payment for goods that are never delivered (non-delivery).    Texas was ranked second in the number of victims per state (21,441) and fourth in the amount of losses per state ($77,135,765). California was first in both categories.  The report features sections on “hot topics” in internet crime, including business email compromises, ransomware, tech support fraud, and extortion. It also contains an appendix defining the various types of internet crime.       The IC3 was established in May 2000 to receive complaints of internet crime. Whi

Federal Judiciary to Limit PACER Access?

Should some PACER filings be blocked to ensure the safety of witnesses and informants? Possibly, according to a recently published a survey of federal judges, prosecutors, defenders and probation officers by the Federal Judicial Center. Originally reported in The Wall Street Journal (subscription required/ available via Lexis Advance), recent survey (PDF) of federal judges, prosecutors, defenders and probation offices by the Federal Judicial Center found that nearly 700 witnesses and informants perceived as snitches had been threatened, wounded or killed over a three year period. According to the Wall Street Journal article, "Federal inmates are restricted from accessing PACER themselves, but it is easy for them to ask people outside the prison to search the online system and report the information back into the prison by phone, according to judges." Inmates are becoming more sophisticated at decoding available criminal findings within the case filings, leading to a substant