TOOLS NEEDED TO FIGHT CREDIT-CARD FRAUD

Misuse of the Internet by those with criminal intent has brought us to a need for a new law to protect us against credit-card fraud that is being perpetrated over this new medium. So says Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle.

The problem occurs, Swingle says, when a person's credit-card number is used to make a purchase in a county where he or she doesn't live. The criminal, who might live in St. Louis, uses a Cape Girardeau resident's card number to buy goods from a company based in Los Angeles or some other city. Even though the company cooperates by allowing law-enforcement agencies to pinpoint the residence and computer from which the purchase was made, the case may never be investigated or prosecuted, Swingle says.

"Right now the only county where you can be prosecuted for a crime is where an element of the crime occurred," Swingle said. Swingle has written legislators urging passage of a new law.

Law enforcement officials such as the Cape Girardeau Police Department's Capt. Steve Strong has seen enough Internet credit-card fraud to make them believers in the need for new legislation. "We've had some cases," Strong said. "It's new, and like any new crime, the longer people see they can get away with it the more it will increase."

Strong further says the ease of pulling this crime off comes from the anonymity of the Internet. An actual card isn't needed, only an active account number. "That's why we tell people to take their carbons with them," Strong said. "The next person can come along, pull the carbon out of the trash and use your card."

Swingle is urging a new law permitting investigation and prosecution of a crime in four jurisdictions:

* The county where the crime occurs;

* The county where the defendant resides;

* The county where the victim resides; and

* The county where the property was obtained or where the attempt to obtain it was made.

Here's hoping lawmakers are listening to the need for action in next year's legislative session. It would appear the need is clear. To realize the full potential of the exciting new medium known as the Internet, we must have the security born of effective laws that deter wrongdoers.