New eCrime Unit of the California Department of Justice to Fight Cybercrime

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris recently presented the California Department of Justice’s new unit, purposed to investigate and prosecute technology crimes. The eCrime Unit will rely on the latest innovations to make sure the number of cyberfraud incidents will drop.

“Today's criminals increasingly use the Internet, smartphones, and other digital devices to victimize people online and offline,” said Attorney General Harris.

“I am creating the eCrime Unit so that California can be a leader in using innovative law enforcement techniques to target these criminals. The eCrime Unit will be comprised of investigators and prosecutors charged with working across jurisdictions and leading task forces to protect California consumers and businesses.”

Criminal activities such as identity theft, online fraud, the theft of computer equipment and services, counterfeiting and piracy, and child exploitation that takes place on underground networks with the purpose of committing crimes against youths, will be on the top of the priority list of the new division.

A number of 20 attorneys and investigators, all specialized in utilizing the latest technologies to combat crime, compose the eCrime Unit which began its operations in August.

Since recent reports released by the Federal Trade Commission show that California is among the favorite places for identity thieves, and the losses caused to consumers, businesses and governments exceeds $46 million (32 million EUR) each year, the authorities felt they had to act on the matter.

Besides the active responsibilities the division has, they’ll also be in charge of providing training for officers, prosecutors and even the general public on topics such as cyber safety and strong information security practices.

Investigative and prosecutorial support will be offered to five California regional high-tech task forces, funded by a program called the High Technology Theft Apprehension and Prosecution Trust Fund.

One thing is certain. With the number of cybercriminal activities increasing each month, such eCrime units are always welcome to make sure individuals, businesses and governments aren’t such an easy target.