Remarks Prepared for Delivery by Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey at the
Identity Theft Press Conference
BOSTON, Aug. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following are the prepared
remarks of Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey for the Identity Theft Press
Conference:
Good afternoon. I am joined here by Michael Sullivan, United States Attorney
for the District of Massachusetts, and Mark Sullivan -- I am assured there is
no relation -- Director of the United States Secret Service.
Earlier today, a grand jury here in the District of Massachusetts returned an
indictment charging a defendant with participating in a massive identity theft
case. This indictment is related to indictments unsealed today in the
Southern District of California, and other indictments brought a few months
ago in the Eastern District of New York. Together, we have charged a total of
11 people, including residents of at least five different countries, with
various crimes relating to the theft and resale of credit and debit card
account information.
So far as we know, this is the single largest and most complex identity theft
case ever charged in this country. The perpetrators are alleged to have stolen
more than 40 million debit and credit card numbers. They targeted at least
nine major retail corporations, including the TJX Corporation, whose stores
include Marshalls and TJ Maxx; BJ's Wholesale Club; Barnes and Noble; Sports
Authority; Boston Market; Office Max; Dave and Busters restaurants; DSW shoe
stores; and Forever 21. They used sophisticated computer hacking techniques,
breaching security systems and installing programs that gathered enormous
quantities of personal financial data, which they then allegedly sold to
others or used themselves. And in total, they caused widespread loses by
banks, retailers, and consumers.
In just a few minutes, U.S. Attorney Mike Sullivan will talk about more of the
operational details of both the conspiracy and the investigation. What I would
like to do is to highlight a couple of points, and to praise the many law
enforcement agencies and people that played a part in this case.
First, this case highlights our increasing vulnerability to the theft of
personal information. Computer networks and the Internet are an indispensable
part of the world economy. But even as they provide extraordinary
opportunities for legitimate commerce and communication, they also provide
extraordinary opportunities for criminals. Where criminals are able to breach
computer security systems, as alleged here, they have enormous ability to
cause harm. Millions of Americans have had their identities compromised each
year. The annual costs to American citizens and businesses are in the
billions.
Identity theft can involve a single criminal stealing the personal financial
information of a single victim or, as it did here, it can involve a group of
criminals stealing the credit card numbers of millions of people, many of whom
may not even learn that they were victims for months or years. Identity theft
victims suffer well beyond the immediate financial costs; they suffer lost
confidence in their privacy and security, as well as the emotional strain and
the time it can take to repair damaged financial lives and credit histories.
In many cases, the effects of these crimes can be felt for years after they
are committed.
Consumers must have confidence that systems for electronic payment are secure.
To do that and to bring renewed attention and focus to this problem
generally, in 2006 the President established an Identity Theft Task Force. The
Task Force, which I chair along with the head of the Federal Trade Commission,
is comprised of 17 federal departments and agencies. In a report issued last
April, the Task Force provided several recommendations to reduce identity
theft and to wage a more effective fight against it. These recommendations
included improvement of data security in the public and private sectors,
enhancement of public education and prevention programs, legislation to
improve our ability to investigate and prosecute identity-related crime, and
improvement of international cooperation in pursuing international identity
theft operations. Since last April, we have been working to put these
recommendations into effect.
The prosecution and punishment of identity thieves is a critical part of the
Task Force's strategy. And the cooperation among investigators and prosecutors
throughout the United States and around the world that led to these
indictments shows the promise of close coordination in tackling these
problems. Cases like this send a clear message to those who might be tempted
to abuse our computer networks to steal information and harm law-abiding
people and businesses: If you do, we will track you down wherever you are in
the world, we will arrest you, and we will send you to jail.
That leads me to my second point. This case is a reminder, if we needed one,
that computer crimes are not confined within national borders. The people
accused of carrying out this scheme worked out of several different countries,
and targeted retail operations without regard to jurisdiction. That sort of
international conspiracy is increasingly common. With the worldwide reach of
the Internet, criminals can now operate from almost anywhere on the globe to
steal personal information from our citizens. And when they do, there are
international online marketplaces where they can peddle that stolen
information.
Because identity thieves easily cooperate across borders to place the
financial security of our citizens and financial institutions at risk, our
response also must be coordinated. We have been working with countries around
the world to identify and address technical vulnerabilities in computer
networks, and to ensure that laws and procedures are adequate to deal with
these kinds of crime. And we have been working closely with our international
partners to crack specific cases when they take us beyond our borders. That's
exactly what we did in this case. Without the close cooperation in this
investigation of law enforcement agencies around the world, including those in
Turkey and Germany, we would not be here today.
Finally, I would like to thank all of the investigators, agents, and
prosecutors whose hard work made this case possible. These include members of
the Department's Criminal Division and its Computer Crime and Intellectual
Property Section; the U.S. Attorneys' Offices for the District of
Massachusetts, the Southern District of California and the Eastern District of
New York; the Internal Revenue Service; and the U.S. Secret Service. Putting
together a case of this size and complexity is no easy task, and they have my
admiration and my thanks.
I would now like to turn the microphone over to U.S. Attorney Mike Sullivan.
SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs, +1-202-514-2007
