"We do not believe the internet to be off base for law enforcement," the Attorney General told reporters at a news conference. "We will be there with as much intensity and presence as we can muster."
The initiative, known as Operation Web Snare, was coordinated between 36 US Attorneys' offices nationwide, the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Trade Commission, and a variety of other federal, state, local and foreign law enforcement agencies.
The operation followed two similar crackdowns last year but, according to the Department of Justice, the cases involved this time show that on-line crime is changing to become more multi-jurisdictional and a blend of both old and new forms of crime.
"Operation Web Snare also shows that America's justice community is seeking to anticipate, out think and adapt to new trends in internet crime," said the Attorney General.
On-line crimes can include multimillion-dollar swindles, on-line auction scams, identity theft, business-opportunity frauds, and the piracy of software and other copyrighted material.
Identity theft is of particular concern to internet users, and in order to focus attention on the issue, Ashcroft said that he had directed the various Justice Departments involved to make full use of the newly enacted Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act.
This Act prescribes stiff prison terms for those who use identity theft to commit other crimes, such as fraud, organised crime, drug trafficking, and terrorism-related matters.
According to the Justice Department, more than 160 investigations have been opened as a result of the three month long operation and investigators have identified more than 150,000 victims with estimated losses of more than $215 million.
The operation is ongoing.
