Net Crime
by Chris Hansen, Dateline correspondent
I just wanted to thank you all for the overwhelming response we've received after our latest investigations. As you know, in the past few weeks we have used some of the same enterprising hidden camera investigative techniques that we use in our "To Catch A Predator" series to expose other crimes and scams. Apparently many of you yourselves have been targeted by the types of thieves we recently highlighted.
First, in "To Catch A Con Man," we tracked down some of the people behind those e-mails most of us have received offering millions, if only we'd put up some of our own cash to help a stranger in a far away land access an account only the e-mail sender knows about. I posed as an investor and turned the tables on the con men by exposing and then confronting them.
On March 27th, we aired the first part of our investigation into identity theft and credit card fraud, "To Catch An Identity Thief." Tonight, we are showing you the second part. I don't know that we've ever infiltrated a crime syndicate the way we have in this story. CONTINUED >>
If you’re like most Americans, you know all too well how pervasive credit card fraud is. You might have been a victim yourself. A few years ago, I got a call from my bank asking if I had charged $24,000 dollars at a store in New Zealand? I most certainly had not, but I had bought my son something on a Website that apparently was not secure and thieves were able to obtain and use my number.
In a groundbreaking investigation a year in the making, we’ll take you into the thieves markets on the Internet where your stolen credit card numbers and identity information could be for sale at this very moment. Very seldom are we able to infiltrate a criminal syndicate the way we do in the case of our investigation into identity theft and credit card fraud.
CONTINUED >>
by Chris Hansen, Dateline correspondent
“My name is Mrs Maryam Ibrahim,...{I am} suffering from long time cancer of the breast...Before my late husband died {he} deposited the sum of 20 million dollars ..20% of this money will be for your time and effort...”
If you’re like me, you’ve likely received unsolicited e-mails offering you the chance of a lifetime. A financial windfall is out there and all you have to do is take advantage of a rare opportunity. They usually sound a little fishy. The pitch goes something like this -- a government official or someone with influence in an African nation has access to a fund containing millions of dollars. But, for some reason that person needs your help to get the money out of Africa and into another country. Oh, and by the way, you’ll need to come up with $14,000 in processing fees and expenses. Once you wire the person this money…the multi-million dollar funds transfer can go through and you’ll get a generous cut of the deal, perhaps $2 million dollars.
You might think that most people would simply hit the delete button, but our investigation reveals that perhaps tens of thousands of people each year take the bait and are taken for a ride, some losing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Usually these cases go uninvestigated, because federal authorities are busy with more pressing matters like counter-terrorism. We decided to take up the challenge and go after these scammers. As you’ll see it’s an investigation that takes halfway across the world and let’s us turn the tables on the conmen.
Chris Hansen reports on 'To Catch a Con Man,' Dateline Tuesday, March 20, 8 p.m.
Editor's note about the comments: Please don't send us the text of the Nigerian spam e-mails you get (since it is spamming our blogware.) You can also go to our message boards for other/longer posts. For other leads, e-mail Dateline@NBC.com. Comments written on this page are for publication. And don't forget to check out the Web-exclusive videos for this story by clicking here.
by Chris Hansen, Dateline correspondent
This “To Catch A Predator” special takes a look back at our earlier investigations as well as a look forward at some critical areas involving online predators we’ve yet to explore.
More important, it’s told in a unique way. Producer Lynn Keller interviewed me, Del and Frag from the online watchdog group Perverted-Justice, some of the law enforcement officers who ran parallel investigations to arrest the men we confronted, and a prosecutor.
The story is told in essentially our own words. It will take you behind the scenes, going back to our very first investigation in Long Island, New York. You’ll see how the investigations developed and became more sophisticated. There are moments that are startling, disturbing and in a few instances even humorous. We’ll answer some of the questions you’ve raised here on the blog.
You may know that I recently wrote a book called “To Catch A Predator” in an effort to explore several important aspects of this subject that we’ve not had time to flesh out on television. One of those areas is that of collateral damage-- what happens to the wives and children of the men who are arrested. You’ll meet Darlene Calvin who appears in the book and you’ll hear the inspirational story of how she put her life back together after her husband’s arrest. You’ll also hear the unique prospective of Bob Shilling, a Seattle Police detective who investigates sex crimes against children, who himself was the victim of sexual abuse as a child.
Take a look at the program. I think you’ll find it interesting and insightful.
These posts were meant to coincide with the broadcast.
by Chris Hansen, Dateline correspondent
8:03 p.m.
Usually when two potential predators arrive at close to the same time, I try to move quickly through the first interview so that we are ready for the second. But here in Flagler Beach, you’re about to see something I’ve not done before. Two men show up so close to each other I have no choice but to conduct the interviews at the same time. Watch as I introduce the two men to each other and see if you can figure out which one has seen our previous Dateline investigations.
CONTINUED >>
by Chris Hansen, Dateline Correspondent
As our “To Catch a Predator” investigation in Flagler Beach, Florida continues, you’re going to see something we don’t experience very often. It’s hard to imagine, but we had an active duty member of law enforcement arrive at our hidden camera house after an extremely graphic online chat with a decoy posing as a 13-year-old girl for nearly a month.
We didn’t know it at the time but 41-year-old Todd Spikes was a police officer for the Florala, Alabama Police Department.
CONTINUED >>
This was Tuesday's live blog. These posts were meant to coincide with the broadcast.
by Chris Hansen, Dateline correspondent
7:55 p.m.
Meet a the guy who thinks he’s about to get away it, at least for a few minutes. Mohamed Abdalla walks into our hidden camera house oozing with confidence. Notice how relaxed he is talking with our actress posing as a young teen home alone. Even when I walk out to talk to him, he’s got his story all set and he’s sticking to it.
CONTINUED >>
by Chris Hansen, Dateline correspondent
Since we started our “To Catch A Predator” investigations almost two and a half years ago, I have confronted more than 200 men who had sexually explicit online chats with decoys posing as young teens before showing up for a date at one of our hidden camera houses.
Many of the men ultimately admit their intentions and sometimes go into great detail about their online addictions and compulsions that led them to our door.
But every once in a while, I run into someone who comes up with what he thinks is a plausible story-- an “innocent excuse” if you will -- for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. CONTINUED >>
This was Tuesday's live blog. These entries are meant to coincide with the broadcast.
by Chris Hansen, Dateline correspondent
7:54 p.m.
The online watchdog group Perverted Justice had worked before with the Murphy, Texas police Department to catch potential predators before, and received attention in some of the local newspapers. During our investigation here, which took place in the days before elections, the issue of online predators was raised in campaign ads that seemed to run every 10 minutes.
I wondered whether all this would keep men from showing up at our hidden camera house. As your about to see, it did not. 31-year old "sunsetliquid", who works in real estate drives more than four hours from Houston after chatting online with a decoy posing as a 13-year-old girl home alone. The man talked about kissing the girl all over and giving and receiving oral sex. He even says he could go to jail if he’s ever caught doing this.
But, when I confront him with the chat log--his words in black and white-- he claims he thought the girl was 18. He also says that he would never have had sex with the girl; he was just there to visit and take some pictures of her. He does have camera equipment in his car. Watch as he admits to me that he's seen an episode of “To Catch a Predator” and how he thought it was disturbing that so many men would try to meet a teen. Perhaps what will disturb him more is what's about to happen to him when he leaves our house.
CONTINUED >>
Preview tonight's upcoming report.
by Chris Hansen, Dateline correspondent
As our “To Catch a Predator” investigation continues here in Murphy, Texas, we continue to see a trend that amazes me: men who have heard about our investigations before -- and some who have actually watched them—still show up at our hidden camera house.
Take the case of 31-year old Eric Rubalcava. During the online chat, Rubalcava talked about how he wants to have sex with the girl and how he’ll kiss her all over. When he showed up at the undercover house, he had camera equipment in his car and an excuse when he meets me. Rubalcava says he thought the girl was 18, but it’s clear from the chat log the girl told him she was 13.
As the conversation continued, he recognized me and talked about seeing the “To Catch a Predator” series once before. I asked him what he thought about the show. He told me it was disturbing to see men go after young girls, but there he was allegedly doing the very same thing. The difference, he claimed, is that he really wouldn’t have had sex with the girl, although he admitted that he might have taken some photographs of her. Like 23 of the other men who surfaced in the Murphy investigation, he’s charged with online solicitation of a minor.
You’ll also meet a man, alleged to have committed the same crime, who made a tragic choice. CONTINUED >>
