Published: October 23, 2006 06:39 pm      

FBI: Internet scam probe probably will be fruitless

Hours of investigative and evidence processing work have already been recorded and more is likely to come, but an FBI agent last week who specializes in Internet fraud told a Cumberland County sheriff's investigator it is unlikely charges will ever be filed in the case.

More information about the probe in Crossville, which started with a phone call from a credit card theft victim in Virginia, is coming to light as two sheriff's investigators continue their probe into the local connection in the World Wide Web scam.

"I talked to an FBI agent in the Memphis office," Sheriff's Investigator Ben Waller said Friday. "He told me the chances of charging anyone over there are pretty slim."

The two scams — apparently unrelated to each other — originated in the countries of Nigeria and Ghana. The local women, ages 34 and 53, met the persons involved in an Internet posting site called "My Space" and corresponded through e-mail and instant messesging online.

After gaining the unsuspecting women's confidence, in both cases the two were asked if it would be alright to have packages shipped to their residences for re-packaging and shipment to addresses in Ghana and Nigeria.

"When it first started, neither woman suspected anything," Waller said. "They thought they were doing the other person a favor." Lacking any motive or profit in the scheme, neither women will be charged, the investigators said.

When packages began arriving at a Gore Rd. address via UPS, DHL and FedEx, the property would be opened and repackaged per the instructions of the person in Africa. Deliveries were scheduled by the perpetrator and pre-paid shipping labels were sent to the local woman's computer.

Those labels were then printed out and taped onto the package. Pickup was then scheduled by the perpetrator. There items were then shipped to Nigeria.

In the second case, the perpetrator sent a Cook Rd. woman a roll of 10,000 U.S. stamps that had been purchased in England. Items started arriving at the local residence and the resident would repack the packages, apply the proper postage (a theater surround sound system had over 530 stamps on the box) and then take the package to the post office for shipment to Ghana.

The items, which range from expensive perfume to designer clothes, cell phones, MP3 players and even a set of "gangster teeth," were all purchased with stolen credit card information and total thousands of dollars.

At least four packages arrived at one of the residences after a probe into the operation was launched. Waller said he expects the scam to continue until the perpetrators overseas realize the stolen goods are not being forwarded.

The Cook Rd. resident has been shipping packages overseas for just over a month. The Gore Rd. resident, however, has been repacking and shipping boxes of goods for nearly a year. She estimates that 100 to 200 packages have arrived some months.

With Internet fraud on the rise, Waller said he would not be surprised if there are other instances of this type of operation going on in Cumberland County.

Investigation is continuing.