Month: February 2021

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

PHOENIX, AZ—Don’t get your heart broken this Valentine’s day. FBI Phoenix wants to educate the public on romance scams, also called confidence fraud. Romance scams occur when a criminal adopts a fake online identity to gain a victim’s affection and trust. The scammer then uses the illusion of a romantic or close relationship to manipulate and/or steal from the victim.

According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), 560 Arizona victims reported losses of more than $12 million in connection with confidence fraud/romance scams in 2020.

The criminals who carry out romance scams are experts at what they do and will seem genuine, caring, and believable. These scammers are present on most dating and social media sites. They will attempt to earn your love, may even propose marriage, and make plans to meet in person, but victims will likely never see them. Eventually, the criminals will ask for money.

These scam artists often say they are in the building and construction industry and are engaged in projects outside the U.S. That makes it easier to avoid meeting in person—and more plausible when they ask for money for a medical emergency or unexpected legal fee.

The following tips may be helpful to consider if you develop a romantic relationship with someone you meet online:

• Research the person’s photo and profile using online searches to see if the material has been used elsewhere.
• Never provide your financial information, loan money, nor allow your bank accounts to be used for transfers of funds. Never send money to anyone you don’t know personally.
• If you are traveling to a foreign country to meet someone check the State Department’s Travel Advisories beforehand (http://travel.state.gov/), provide your itinerary to family and friends, and do not travel alone if possible.
• Beware if the individual seems too perfect or quickly asks you to leave a dating service or Facebook to go “offline.”
• Beware if the individual attempts to isolate you from friends and family or requests inappropriate photos or financial information that could later be used to extort you.
• Beware if the individual promises to meet in person, but then always comes up with an excuse why he or she can’t. If you haven’t met the person after a few months, for whatever reason, you have good reason to be suspicious.
• If you are planning to meet someone in person you have met online, meet in a public place and let someone know where you will be and what time you should return home.

Victims may be hesitant to report being taken advantage of due to embarrassment, shame, or humiliation. It’s important to remember, romance scams can happen to anyone at any time.

If you suspect your online relationship is a scam, cease all contact immediately. If you are a victim who has already sent money, immediately report the incident to your financial institution. Then inform your local law enforcement agency or FBI Phoenix at (623) 466-1999. Victims are also encouraged to file a complaint with the FBI at ic3.gov.

For more information on romance scams, visit: https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/romance-scams.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News

Director Christopher Wray has named Larissa L. Knapp as the executive assistant director (EAD) of the Human Resources Branch at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Ms. Knapp most recently served as the assistant director of the Security Division.

As EAD, Ms. Knapp oversees the Human Resources, Security, Finance and Facilities, and Training Divisions, as well as the Office of Disciplinary Appeals and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

Ms. Knapp began her FBI career in 1997 as a special agent in the New York Field Office, where she investigated criminal computer intrusion and intellectual property matters. In 2003, she transferred to the FBI office on St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, where she worked mostly counterterrorism investigations.

In 2006, Ms. Knapp was promoted and moved to FBI Headquarters and served in several leadership positions at the CIA Counterterrorism Center and in the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division. In 2011, Ms. Knapp was selected as a field supervisor of a counterterrorism squad at the Washington Field Office. She was promoted to the assistant special agent in charge of an intelligence branch at WFO 2014.

Ms. Knapp was promoted in 2016 to section chief of the Counterterrorism Internet Operations Section in the Counterterrorism Division at Headquarters. She led the coordination, support, and oversight of FBI investigations to detect and disrupt cyber terrorist networks and operatives.

In 2017, Ms. Knapp was elevated to deputy assistant director of the Intelligence Operations Branch in the Directorate of Intelligence. She returned to WFO in 2018 as the special agent in charge of the Counterterrorism Division, where she oversaw the crisis response program and led efforts to protect the region from international and domestic terrorism threats.

Ms. Knapp was named assistant director of the Security Division in 2020. As the FBI’s chief security officer, Ms. Knapp was in charge of global security operations, access control, physical security, background investigations, and related programs.

Ms. Knapp earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Union College in New York and a Juris Doctor from Hamline University in Minnesota.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News

Female genital mutilation (FGM) has broad implications for the health and human rights of women and girls, as well as societies at large. International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation on February 6 served as an opportunity to reflect on victims who have suffered from FGM, including those who have died or suffered lifelong health complications from the practice. Partners of the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC)—including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division—join foreign government partners, non-governmental organizations, and local communities to call for the eradication of the practice.

“On this day we remember the women and girls who have been impacted by this horrific practice and commit ourselves to working together to end it,” said Mark Shaffer, chief of ICE’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center. “FGM is a human rights violation and a crime that requires a global effort to address. We stand with our domestic and international partners as we work together to support survivors and prevent the victimization of more women and girls.”

“In the United States there will be zero tolerance for those who subject girls to this harmful and traumatic practice,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “As the recent indictment shows, the Justice Department will seek to hold accountable all perpetrators of this heinous act and fully enforce all provisions of the STOP FGM Act.”

“Every year, the FBI joins with our partners to acknowledge Zero Tolerance Day and raise awareness regarding female genital mutilation. However, our work investigating perpetrators of this terrible crime is not limited to February 6. The FBI is consistently and actively working to eradicate this human rights violation every day of the year,” said David Scott, section chief of the FBI’s Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section. “We reaffirm our commitment to our partners, to the victims, and to the world that the FBI is committed to protecting the rights of young women and children and bringing justice to those who would violate them.”

FGM is a serious human rights violation, and, since 1996, has been a federal crime. This year, on January 5, the STOP FGM Act 2020 was signed into law, further clarifying the FGM crime and aligning the U.S. definition of FGM with the World Health Organization’s definition. Violations of this law may result in imprisonment and potential removal from the United States. Individuals suspected of FGM, including sending girls overseas to be cut, may be investigated by the HRVWCC and prosecuted by the Justice Department accordingly. Notably, STOP FGM 2020 aligned the definition of FGM with the World Health Organization’s definition and increased the statutory maximum term of imprisonment for violating the law from five to ten years. On January 13, the Department of Justice indicted a Texas woman for allegedly transporting a minor out of the United States for FGM, the first indictment under the amended statute.

The Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center is the only government entity focused completely on investigating global atrocities and the perpetrators of human rights violations and war crimes. Initiated by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations in 2008, the HRVWCC leverages the knowledge and expertise of a select group of special agents, attorneys, intelligence analysts, criminal research specialists and historians who are charged with preventing the United States from becoming a safe haven to individuals who engage in the commission of war crimes, genocide, torture and other forms of serious human rights abuses from conflicts around the globe. The center also brings together other DHS components and federal partners, to include the FBI and the Department of Justice, who work collaboratively alongside HSI to pursue human rights violators and war crimes investigations and prosecutions. In 2017, the HRVWCC initiated Operation Limelight USA, a program modeled on Operation Limelight, a joint initiative by the United Kingdom Border Force and police services across the United Kingdom (U.K.). In Operation Limelight USA, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), in partnership with non-governmental organizations, the FBI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and other partners worked together to educate passengers flying to or from high-risk countries, offering informational brochures and identifying potential victims and violators of FGM.

According to UNICEF, more than 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone FGM, which refers to cutting and other procedures that injure the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. While primarily concentrated in north, west, and central Africa, as well as parts of the Middle East and Asia, FGM also occurs in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that approximately 500,000 women and girls in the United States are either victims of FGM or are at risk of being subjected to it. The practice is global in scope and found in multiple geographies, religions, and socioeconomic classes.

Anyone who has information about an individual who is suspected of assisting in this crime is urged to call the toll-free ICE tip line at (866) 347-2423 or the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or complete the ICE online tip form or FBI online tip form. All are staffed around the clock, and tips may be provided anonymously.

For more information about the practice of female genital mutilation/cutting, view this Fact Sheet on FGM from the U.S. Department of State or visit the United Nations’ Zero Tolerance Day website.