http://www.tampabaycfe.org

February 2005

TRAINING

Tampa Bay Chapter

Chapter dinner meetings are a great way to network while enjoying a meal. At $15, it is also an easy and affordable way to obtain an hour of CPE.

Dinner Meetings

March 8, 2005
"Consumer Fraud"

April 12, 2005
"Auditing for Financial Fraud"

6th Annual Fraud & Computer Crimes Seminar

May 10 - 11, 2005
FDLE Headquarters
4211 N. Lois Avenue
Tampa, Florida 33614

2004 - 2005
OFFICERS &
DIRECTORS

PRESIDENT
Penny Borjas, CFE, CIA
TriCenturion
(727) 786-8840 x15718

VICE PRESIDENT
Steve Hooper, CIA, CFE, CCSA
Clerk of the Circuit Court
Hillsborough County, FL
(813) 276-2029 x7648

SECRETARY
Roland Rodriguez, CFE, CBA
Bank of America
(813) 224-5211

TREASURER
Laura Krueger Brock, CFE, CPA
Cherry, Bekaert, Holland, LLP
(727) 822-8811

DIRECTOR
Mark Dubina, CFE
Florida Department of
Law Enforcement
(813) 878-7366

DIRECTOR
Ellen Wilcox, CFE
Florida Department of
Law Enforcement
(727) 298-2482

CHAPTER TRAINING
Wayne Boytim, CFE
City of Tampa
Internal Audit
(813) 274-7167

JOIN THE TAMPA BAY CHAPTER

Membership in the Tampa Bay Chapter costs only $20 to $25. There are four categories of members: CFE, ACFE Associate, Chapter Affiliate and Student. For more info, visit our web site.

ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS or JOB OPPORTUNITY

We have two pages of our web site devoted to publicizing members' businesses and career opportunities. If you are interested in advertising with us, visit the pages to see what is offered and send your copy to TampaCFE@ TampaBayCFE.org.

Federal Trade Commission's Privacy Initiatives

Privacy is a central element of the FTC's consumer protection mission. In recent years, advances in computer technology have made it possible for detailed information about people to be compiled and shared more easily and cheaply than ever. That has produced many benefits for society as a whole and individual consumers. For example, it is easier for law enforcement to track down criminals, for banks to prevent fraud, and for consumers to learn about new products and services, allowing them to make better-informed purchasing decisions. At the same time, as personal information becomes more accessible, each of us - companies, associations, government agencies, and consumers - must take precautions to protect against the misuse of our information.

The Federal Trade Commission is educating consumers and businesses about the importance of personal information privacy, including the security of personal information. Under the FTC Act, the Commission guards against unfairness and deception by enforcing companies' privacy promises about how they collect, use and secure consumers' personal information. Under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Commission has implemented rules concerning financial privacy notices and the administrative, technical and physical safeguarding of personal information, and it aggressively enforces against pretexting. The Commission also protects consumer privacy under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. Use the topic links below to read more about FTC's efforts in each of these areas, including what they have learned, and what you can do to protect the privacy of your personal information.

• FTC Enforces Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act's Safeguards Rule Against Mortgage Companies
• Petco Settles FTC Charges
• Gateway Learning Settles FTC Privacy Charges
• GLB Agencies to Consider Alternative Forms of Privacy Notices

Enforcing Privacy Promises: Section 5 of the FTC Act

A key part of the Commission's privacy program is making sure companies keep the promises they make to consumers about privacy and, in particular, the precautions they take to secure consumers' personal information. To respond to consumers' concerns about privacy, many Web sites post privacy policies that describe how consumers’ personal information is collected, used, shared, and secured. Indeed, almost all the top 100 commercial sites now post privacy policies. Using its authority under Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive practices, the Commission has brought a number of cases to enforce the promises in privacy statements, including promises about the security of consumers’ personal information.

Financial Privacy: The Gramm-Leach Bliley Act

The Financial Modernization Act of 1999, also known as the “Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act” or GLB Act, includes provisions to protect consumers’ personal financial information held by financial institutions. There are three principal parts to the privacy requirements: the Financial Privacy Rule, Safeguards Rule and pretexting provisions.

The GLB Act gives authority to eight federal agencies and the states to administer and enforce the Financial Privacy Rule and the Safeguards Rule. These two regulations apply to “financial institutions,” which include not only banks, securities firms, and insurance companies, but also companies providing many other types of financial products and services to consumers. Among these services are lending, brokering or servicing any type of consumer loan, transferring or safeguarding money, preparing individual tax returns, providing financial advice or credit counseling, providing residential real estate settlement services, collecting consumer debts and an array of other activities. Such non-traditional “financial institutions” are regulated by the FTC. For more information on the types of financial activities covered, click here.

The Financial Privacy Rule governs the collection and disclosure of customers’ personal financial information by financial institutions. It also applies to companies, whether or not they are financial institutions, who receive such information. For a summary overview of the Financial Privacy Rule,  see In Brief: The Financial Privacy Requirements of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.

The Safeguards Rule requires all financial institutions to design, implement and maintain safeguards to protect customer information. The Safeguards Rule applies not only to financial institutions that collect information from their own customers, but also to financial institutions – such as credit reporting agencies – that receive customer information from other financial institutions.

The Pretexting provisions of the GLB Act protect consumers from individuals and companies that obtain their personal financial information under false pretenses, a practice known as “pretexting.”

Credit Reporting: The Fair Credit Reporting Act

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), enforced by the Federal Trade Commission, promotes accuracy in consumer reports and is meant to ensure the privacy of the information in them. The FCRA was recently amended by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA) (PL 108-159, 12/04/03). The FACTA requires the Commission and other agencies to implement many of the new provisions of the FCRA by means of rules and regulations to be issued in 2004.

If you've ever applied for a charge account, personal loan, insurance, or job, there's a file about you. This file contains information on where you work and live, how you pay your bills and whether you’ve been sued, arrested, or have filed for bankruptcy. Companies that gather and sell this information are called Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs). The most common type of CRA is the credit bureau. The activities of other CRAs – such as tenant or employment screening services, or agencies whose data is limited to your checkwriting history – that offer reports on consumers in specific situations are also governed by the FCRA. CRAs may sell information about you to creditors, employers, insurers, and other businesses in the form of a consumer report.

In addition to credit reports on file with credit bureaus, the FCRA may govern other files of information collected and maintained on consumers, depending on their content and use. Medical information and information used to prevent and detect fraud are sometimes governed by the FCRA.

Children's Privacy: The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act

The primary goal of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule is to give parents control over what information is collected from their children online and how such information may be used.

Chapter News

Local Chapter Member Obtains CFE Certification

Tampa Bay Chapter Associates, JaNeanne Rhynehart, eServices Supervisor with Midflorida Federal Credit Union recently passed the CFE Exam. Congratulations, JaNeanne.

---

The Tampa Bay Chapter Awards Four $500 Scholarships

The Tampa Bay Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners annually awards four scholarships to outstanding Tampa Bay area students pursuing a degree in business or criminal justice. Two $500 scholarships are dedicated to undergraduate students and two to graduate students. Below are this year's award winners.

Kathleen Auger is senior at USF majoring in accounting.  She plans to enter the Masters program Forensic Accounting after graduating in the spring of 2005.  Kathleen continues the academic excellence of the scholarship recipients tonight, she has a 3.9 GPA.  She is active in various university organizations and is a volunteer with the IRS to prepare tax returns.

Bo Stith is a senior at the University of Tampa majoring in accounting.  She is maintaining a 3.8 GPA and this academic prowess lead to her being added to the Dean’s List.   Bo’s outside activities are to numerous to list; however, she is the President of Beta Alpha Psi, Captain of the UT Intercollegiate Swim Team and is active in other extracurricular interests.

Aaron Gall is a first year graduate student, now in his second semester, in the Masters Degree Program at the St. Petersburg campus of USF.  His undergraduate degree in accounting was awarded by Clearwater Christian College. Aaron graduated Cum Laude from CCC, with a 3.8 GPA.  In addition to his academic achievement he was a member of the Alpha Chi Honor Society.

Kelly Neff is a senior majoring in accounting at the University of Tampa.  She is on the Dean’s List due to her academic distinction.  Kelly has a cumulative 3.7 GPA.  As the president of the Beta Alpha Psi Chapter she led the way in the petitioning process to full membership in national association.  UT became a full member of Beta Alpha Psi in 2004.  In addition to her academic feats, Kelly took the MBA level course on Fraud Examination.  She was the first undergraduate to take the course.  Kelly is a past scholarship recipient.

Dinner Meeting News

February 8th Dinner Meeting

Our next dinner meeting is scheduled for March 8, 2005. The speaker for the evening is Kevin Jackson, Chief Investigator for Hillsborough County’s Consumer Protection Agency. Mr. Jackson received the appointment in August 2001. He currently supervises 9 full time investigators and 1 outreach coordinator who intake and investigate approximately 100 consumer complaints per month. The Agency conducts fact finding, mediation, referrals and criminal investigations on a number of varied topics.

Mr. Jackson was formerly a Financial Investigator for the Florida Attorney General’s “Economic Crime Unit” in Tampa for over 10 years. Mr. Jackson was also a law enforcement officer with the Tampa Police Department and a Revenue Investigator for the Florida Department of Revenue.

Mr. Jackson attained his “Certified Fraud Examiner” designation from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners in October 1999. He is a graduate of the University of South Florida’s Criminology Department, and is a 37 year resident of Tampa. Mr. Jackson is a long standing member of the North American Consumer Protection Investigators (NACPI), and has been a speaker and presenter at NACPI and National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators (NACAA) conferences. Mr. Jackson has also been a member of many local task forces, intelligence groups and multi-agency investigative groups.

Mr. Jackson will discuss the jurisdiction and duties of the Hillsborough County Consumer Protection Agency. Mr. Jackson will share the methods and tactics used by his investigators to try and resolve and mediate consumer complaints that law enforcement typically describes as “civil matters.” However, local consumer protection agencies and other related state agencies can provide some valuable assistance to the consumers in these “non criminal” disputes.

Mr. Jackson will also share some experiences with real cases and investigations he has conducted utilizing generally uncommon criminal statutes in order to take some enforcement action that had not been taken before, or to enhance penalties for a particular egregious economic crime.

The dinner meeting will be held at the Park Plaza Tampa Airport Westshore, located at 5303 West Kennedy Blvd., 11th Floor. The hotel is just west of Westshore Plaza on the north side of Kennedy Blvd. Evenings will begin with a social at 6:00 P.M., followed by a buffet dinner at 6:30 and a presentation at 7:00. The cost remains only $15.

To make your reservation, please use the following link Chapter Meeting Reservation and complete the form at the bottom of the page.  You can also make your reservation by emailing Wayne Boytim or calling him at (813) 274-7167 by the Friday before the meeting date. Reservations will be accepted after that date and walk-ups are always welcome. Please remember that cancellations are accepted up to the afternoon of the meeting. No shows will be billed after the second missed meeting. Please help us keep our costs down by letting us know if you are unable to attend.

February 8th Dinner Meeting

Our speaker at the February 8, 2005 meeting was Richard Lawson, Assistant State Attorney (ASA) for the 13^th Judicial Circuit.  Lawson explained that most judicial circuits in Florida encompass several counties, such as the 6^th Judicial Circuit which covers Pinellas and Pasco Counties.  However, the 13^th Judicial Circuit encompasses only Hillsborough County.  The State Attorney (SA) for the 13^th Judicial Circuit is Mark Ober.  Each State Attorney organizes his/her office in a manner that he/she feels would best serve his jurisdiction.  In the 13^th Judicial Circuit, SA Ober has set up eight (8) general divisions and four (4) crime specific divisions.  The four (4) specialty divisions are Homicide/Major Crimes, Sex Offenders, Drugs, and Economic Crimes.  ASA Lawson is assigned to the Economic Crimes division.  His division handles cases that are more complex and the loss is generally greater than $50,000. 

In most general state cases, the police officer makes an arrest and then the ASA reviews the probable cause affidavit and any additional investigative reports or evidence.  Based on this information, the ASA then decides whether to officially “charge” the suspect with that crime, other crimes, or dismiss the case.  Last year, approximately 87,000 referrals (arrests) were made to the State Attorney’s Office and approximately 68,000 resulted in charges being filed.  Of those 68,000 cases, approximately 20,000 involved felony charges, rather than traffic citations or misdemeanors.

In the federal judicial system, the police officer/federal agent investigates the case and presents the evidence to a federal grand jury.  The federal grand jury then indicts the suspect.  The suspect is then arrested based on this indictment.  For the complex cases, ASA Lawson prefers to handle them in a manner similar to the federal system.  After a completed investigation, ASA Lawson directly files an information charging the suspect with certain crimes.  Like the federal system, the suspect is arrested after the information has been filed.  Once a defendant is arrested, the speedy trial rule applies and the defendant must be tried within six months, unless he waives this right.  Therefore, the ASA must be ready to go to trial once the charges have been filed.  On the average only 5 to 10% of criminal felony cases go to trial.  However, the more complex the case, the more likely it is to go to trial.

ASA Lawson explained that an assistant state attorney’s job is different from the typical attorney.  Normally an attorney is an advocate of his client, aggressively defending his client.  As an assistant state attorney, Lawson job is to be “fair”, rather than an advocate for his “client”.  His client is actually the State of Florida and its citizens.  Lawson’s job is to be “fair” to all parties involved, including the victims and the defendants. 

ASA Lawson briefly discussed the type of cases that the Economic Crimes Unit handled:

1. Elderly exploitation

2. Complex grand theft type case, like embezzlement

3. Organized Fraud (a series of grand thefts)

4. Sales Tax Fraud or Conversion of State Funds

5. Identity Theft

6. Complex RICO cases that are not drug related – usually involving usury, gambling, prostitution, etc.   

Assistant State Attorneys assigned to this unit typically handle a lower volume of cases than a normal ASA.  They met with the investigators at the beginning of the case and work with them throughout the investigation.  ASA have subpoena power and typically issue numerous subpoenas during an investigation.  They also involved in the drafting of search warrants for the investigation. 

The complex nature of economic crime cases present issues that the typical ASA might not encounter.  It is the job of the ASA to take this complicated case and simplifying it for the information and charges.  An economic crime case may result in a very lengthy trial with multiple defendants and/or multiple victims.  The trial will also involve a long list of witnesses and exhibits.  At the trial, the ASA must summarize this complex case and present it to a jury in simplified terms. 

Submitted by: Ellen Wilcox, Director

Hillsborough County Consumer Protection Agency

The Hillsborough County Consumer Protection Agency enforces consumer protection laws through investigation and mediation. The Agency refers unresolved mediation cases to the Consumer Protection Board and presents criminal cases to the State Attorney or the U.S. Attorney General for prosecution. It also develops and conducts consumer education programs and serves as a clearinghouse for consumer complaints. Information regarding the following consumer matters is available from the agency: automobile purchases and repair, contracts and purchases, landlord-tenant relations, warranties, appliances, mail orders, and telemarketing and internet fraud. Below are a list of consumer protection links from the agency's website:

Email Address Harvesting: How Spammers Reap What You Sow

Is your in-box clogged with junk email messages from people you don't know? Are you overwhelmed by unsolicited email offering products or services you don't want?

It's no wonder. According to research by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and several law enforcement partners, it's harvest time for spammers. But, the consumer protection agency says, the good news for computer users is that they can minimize the amount of spam they receive.

According to the investigators, spammers typically use computer programs that search public areas on the Internet to compile, capture, or otherwise "harvest" lists of email addresses from web pages, newsgroups, chat rooms, and other online destinations.

To find out which fields spammers consider most fertile for harvesting, investigators "seeded" 175 different locations on the Internet with 250 new, undercover email addresses. The locations included web pages, newsgroups, chat rooms, message boards, and online directories for web pages, instant message users, domain names, resumes, and dating services. During the six weeks after the postings, the accounts received 3,349 spam emails. The investigators found that:

• 86 percent of the addresses posted to web pages received spam. It didn't matter where the addresses were posted on the page: if the address had the "@" sign in it, it drew spam.
   
• 86 percent of the addresses posted to newsgroups received spam.
   
• Chat rooms are virtual magnets for harvesting software. One address posted in a chat room received spam nine minutes after it first was used.

Addresses posted in other areas on the Internet received less spam, the investigators found. Half the addresses posted on free personal web page services received spam, as did 27 percent of addresses posted to message boards and nine percent of addresses listed in email service directories. Addresses posted in instant message service user profiles, "Whois" domain name registries, online resume services, and online dating services did not receive any spam during the six weeks of the investigation.

In almost all instances, the investigators found, the spam received was not related to the address used. As a result, consumers who use email are exposed to a variety of spam - including objectionable messages - no matter the source of the address. Some email addresses posted to children's newsgroups received a large amount of spam promoting adult web sites, pitching work-at-home schemes, and even advertising hallucinogenic drugs.

Source: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/spamalrt.htm

A Message from our President

Thank you once again everyone that attended our Feb. 8th dinner meeting. It is always thrilling to meet new attendees but it is just as enjoyable to socialize with the regulars. You can’t beat it for a night of good company and food.

Are any of you wondering why we haven’t announced our annual two-day seminar yet? Rest assured the announcement is coming soon. We expect to have some exciting speakers to fill both days. So please keep your schedules open for May 10th and 11th.

Penny Borjas