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United States Postal Inspection Service
The United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), or the Postal Inspectors, is the Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement arm of the United States Postal Service. It supports and protects the U.S. Postal Service, its employees, infrastructure, and customers by enforcing the laws that defend the United States' mail system from illegal or dangerous use. Its jurisdiction covers any crimes that may adversely affect or mail fraud, fraudulently use the U.S. Mail, the postal system, or postal employees. With roots going back to the late 18th century, the USPIS is the country's oldest continuously operating federal law enforcement agency. There are approximately 200 federal crimes that can be committed which involve the mail. Therefore, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service's activities are broad and ever-changing. In 2021, postal inspectors made 5,141 arrests leading to more than 3,700 convictions, mostly involving mail theft, mail fraud, and prohibited m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthony Comstock
Anthony Comstock (; March7, 1844 – September21, 1915) was an American anti-vice activist, United States Postal Inspector, and secretary of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice (NYSSV), who was dedicated to upholding Christian morality. He opposed obscene literature, abortion, contraception, masturbation, gambling, prostitution, and patent medicine. The terms ''comstockery'' and ''comstockism'' refer to his extensive censorship campaign of materials that he considered obscene, including birth control advertised or sent by mail. He used his positions in the U.S. Postal Service and the NYSSV (in association with the New York police) to make numerous arrests for obscenity and gambling. Besides these pursuits, he was also involved in efforts to suppress fraudulent banking schemes, mail swindles, and medical quackery. Life Comstock was born in New Canaan, Connecticut, the son of Polly Ann (née Lockwood) and Thomas Anthony Comstock. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Advance-fee Scam
An advance-fee scam is a form of fraud and is a common confidence trick. The scam typically involves promising the victim a significant share of a large sum of money, in return for a small up-front payment, which the fraudster claims will be used to obtain the large sum. If a victim makes the payment, the fraudster either invents a series of further fees for the victim to pay or simply disappears. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) states that "An advance fee scheme occurs when the victim pays money to someone in anticipation of receiving something of greater value – such as a loan, contract, investment, or gift – and then receives little or nothing in return." There are many variations of this type of scam, including the Nigerian prince scam, also known as a 419 scam. The number "419" refers to the section of the Nigerian Criminal Code dealing with fraud and the charges and penalties for such offenders. The scam has been used with fax and traditional mail and is no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ponzi Scheme
A Ponzi scheme (, ) is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays Profit (accounting), profits to earlier investors with Funding, funds from more recent investors. Named after Italians, Italian confidence artist Charles Ponzi, this type of scheme misleads investors by either falsely suggesting that profits are derived from legitimate business activities (whereas the business activities are non-existent), or by exaggerating the extent and profitability of the legitimate business activities, leveraging new investments to fabricate or supplement these profits. A Ponzi scheme can maintain the illusion of a sustainable business as long as investors continue to contribute new funds, and as long as most of the investors do not demand full repayment or lose faith in the non-existent assets they are purported to own. Some of the first recorded incidents to meet the modern definition of the Ponzi scheme were carried out from 1869 to 1872 by Adele Spitzeder in German Empire, Germany and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Computer Fraud
Computer fraud is the use of computers, the Internet, Internet devices, and Internet services to defraud people or organizations of resources. In the United States, computer fraud is specifically proscribed by the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), which criminalizes computer-related acts under federal jurisdiction and directly combats the insufficiencies of existing laws. Types of computer fraud include: *Distributing hoax emails *Accessing unauthorized computers *Engaging in data mining via spyware and malware * Hacking into computer systems to illegally access personal information, such as credit cards or Social Security numbers *Sending computer viruses or worms with the intent to destroy or ruin another party's computer or system. Phishing, social engineering, viruses, and DDoS attacks are fairly well-known tactics used to disrupt service or gain access to another's network, but this list is not inclusive. Notable incidents ;The Melissa Virus/Worm The Melissa Virus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wire Fraud
Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical (e.g., the U.S. Postal Service) or electronic (e.g., a phone, a telegram, a fax, or the Internet) mail system to defraud another, and are U.S. federal crimes. Jurisdiction is claimed by the federal government if the illegal activity crosses interstate or international borders. Mail fraud Mail fraud was first defined in the United States in 1872. provides: Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, or to sell, dispose of, loan, exchange, alter, give away, distribute, supply, or furnish or procure for unlawful use any counterfeit or spurious coin, obligation, security, or other article, or anything represented to be or intimated or held out to be such counterfeit or spurious article, for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Credit Card Fraud
Credit card fraud is an inclusive term for fraud committed using a payment card, such as a credit card or debit card. The purpose may be to obtain goods or services or to make payment to another account, which is controlled by a criminal. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is the data security standard created to help financial institutions process card payments securely and reduce card fraud. Credit card fraud can be authorised, where the genuine customer themselves processes payment to another account which is controlled by a criminal, or unauthorised, where the account holder does not provide authorisation for the payment to proceed and the transaction is carried out by a third party. In 2018, unauthorised financial fraud losses across payment cards and remote banking totalled £844.8 million in the United Kingdom. Whereas banks and card companies prevented £1.66 billion in unauthorised fraud in 2018. That is the equivalent to £2 in every £3 of atte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Identity Theft
Identity theft, identity piracy or identity infringement occurs when someone uses another's personal identifying information, like their name, identifying number, or credit card number, without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. The term ''identity theft'' was coined in 1964. Since that time, the definition of identity theft has been legally defined throughout both the UK and the United States, U.S. as the theft of personally identifiable information. Identity theft deliberately uses someone else's personally identifiable information, identity as a method to gain financial advantages or obtain credit and other benefits. The person whose identity has been stolen may suffer adverse consequences, especially if they are falsely held responsible for the perpetrator's actions. Personally identifiable information generally includes a person's name, date of birth, social security number, driver's license number, bank account or credit card numbers, Personal identification ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bank Fraud
Bank fraud is the use of potentially illegal means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a financial institution, or to obtain money from depositors by fraudulently posing as a bank or other financial institution. In many instances, bank fraud is a criminal law, criminal offence. While the specific elements of particular banking fraud laws vary depending on jurisdictions, the term bank fraud applies to actions that employ a scheme or artifice, as opposed to bank robbery or theft. For this reason, bank fraud is sometimes considered a white-collar crime. Types of bank fraud Accounting fraud In order to hide serious financial problems, some businesses have been known to use fraudulent bookkeeping to overstate sales and income, inflate the worth of the company's assets, or state a profit when the company is operating at a loss. These tampered records are then used to seek investment in the company's bond or security issues or to make fraudulent loan applica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthrax
Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The skin form presents with a small blister with surrounding swelling that often turns into a painless ulcer with a black center. The inhalation form presents with fever, chest pain, and shortness of breath. The intestinal form presents with diarrhea (which may contain blood), abdominal pains, nausea, and vomiting. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the first clinical descriptions of cutaneous anthrax were given by Maret in 1752 and Fournier in 1769. Before that, anthrax had been described only in historical accounts. The German scientist Robert Koch was the first to identify ''Bacillus anthracis'' as the bacterium that causes anthrax. Anthra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ricin
Ricin ( ) is a lectin (a carbohydrate-binding protein) and a highly potent toxin produced in the seeds of the castor oil plant, ''Ricinus communis''. The median lethal dose (LD50) of ricin for mice is around 22 micrograms per kilogram of body weight via intraperitoneal injection. Oral exposure to ricin is far less toxic. An estimated lethal oral dose in humans is approximately one milligram per kilogram of body weight. Ricin is a toxalbumin and was first described by Peter Hermann Stillmark, the founder of lectinology. Ricin is chemically similar to Robin (toxin), robin. Biochemistry Ricin is classified as a type 2 ribosome-inactivating protein (RIP). Whereas type 1 RIPs are composed of a single protein chain that possesses catalytic activity, type 2 RIPs, also known as holotoxins, are composed of two different protein chains that form a heterodimeric complex. Type 2 RIPs consist of an A chain that is functionally equivalent to a type 1 RIP, covalently connected by a single ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
September 11, 2001, Attacks
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Hijackers in the September 11 attacks#Hijackers, Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center (1973–2001), World Trade Center in New York City and the third into the Pentagon (headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense) in Arlington County, Virginia. The fourth plane crashed in a rural Pennsylvania field during a passenger revolt. The attacks killed 2,977 people, making it the deadliest terrorist attack in history. In response to the attacks, the United States waged the global war on terror over multiple decades to eliminate hostile groups deemed terrorist organizations, as well as the foreign governments purported to support them. Ringleader Mohamed Atta flew American Airlines Flight 11 into the 1 Wor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
