What Gets Me Hot: The Facebook Gang

The Facebook Gang:

1. Gang Communications

Gang members often use cell phones and the Internet to communicate and promote their illicit activities. Street gangs typically use the voice and text messaging capabilities of cell phones to conduct drug transactions and prearrange meetings with customers. Members of street gangs use multiple cell phones that they frequently discard while conducting their drug trafficking operations. For example, the leader of an African American street gang operating on the north side of Milwaukee used more than 20 cell phones to coordinate drug-related activities of the gang; most were prepaid phones that the leader routinely discarded and replaced. Internet-based methods such as social networking sites, encrypted e-mail, Internet telephony, and instant messaging are commonly used by gang members to communicate with one another and with drug customers. Gang members use social networking Internet sites such as MySpace, YouTube, and Facebook as well as personal web pages to communicate and boast about their gang membership and related activities.

        * According to open source and local law enforcement reporting, members of Crips gangs in Hampton, Virginia, use the Internet to intimidate rival gang members and maintain web sites to recruit new members. On October 23, 2007, a 15-year-old Crips gang member was arrested for shooting a rival gang member in the leg. Additionally, he was charged with the recruitment of persons for a criminal street gang through the use of the gang's social networking site.

        * Gangs in Oceanside, California, are recruiting new members and claiming new turf on the Internet. Gang members flash gang signs and wear gang colors in videos and photos displayed on Internet sites. Sometimes, rivals "spar" on Internet message boards. Oceanside Police Department officers who investigate the city's resident Crips and Bloods easily find well-produced, self-promoting songs and videos featuring local gang members on Internet web sites.

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THE SEASON...FOR ONLINE SHOPPING
How to Avoid Getting Grinched

Online Shopping GraphicHappy "Cyber Monday!"

We hear the Monday after Thanksgiving is now one of the busiest days—if not the busiest day—of the year for online shopping. That's why some retailers are calling it "Cyber Monday" or even "Black Monday."

And that’s why we’d like to start your online shopping off right with some words to the wise.

Here's our specific advice for shopping safely on the Internet:

    *
      Do your homework on the web retailer. Make sure you're buying items from a reputable and legitimate company. Don't judge the business by its website. Make sure the site has a physical address and a working phone number. Check consumer websites for information about the company.

    * When using your credit card for purchases, make sure the website is secure. Look for the tiny padlock icon that symbolizes (but doesn’t necessarily guarantee) a higher level of security. Also, check out the site’s security or encryption software.

    * Be very cautious when responding to special offers (especially those that come via unsolicited e-mail) and when dealing with companies or persons outside the country.

    * If you’re participating in an Internet auction, read the fine print. Before you bid, learn as much as you can about how the auction works, what your responsibilities are as a buyer, what the seller’s obligations are, and what actions the website takes if a problem occurs. Learn as much as you can about the seller. And don’t give out your social security number or driver’s license number to the seller.

Also, make sure your computer has a firewall and the latest anti-virus software. And we can’t repeat this enough: don’t open unknown e-mail attachments, including those contained in recent messages that appear to come from the FBI.
What should you do if you think you've been scammed? Go online and file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center run by the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center. You can also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and contact your local police. We also recommend that you file a complaint with the retailer.

For more information tips on avoiding fraud and protecting your family from crime, visit our Be Crime Smart webpage.

1. Criminal Activities

Gangs are responsible for a significant portion of the crime in many urban communities and in an increasing number of suburban communities across the country; much of this crime is associated with their drug trafficking activities. Gang members also engage in a host of other criminal activities such as auto theft, assault, alien smuggling, burglary, drive-by shootings, extortion, firearms offenses, home invasion robberies, homicide, identity theft, insurance fraud, mortgage fraud, operating prostitution rings, and weapons trafficking.

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Illicit Finance

Gangs earn the profits essential to maintaining their criminal operations and the lifestyles of their members primarily through drug distribution. Most gang members are retail-level dealers who use drug proceeds to make typical consumer purchases, pay their living costs, or purchase luxury goods such as vehicles and jewelry.

For example, members of Chicago-based Latin Kings, Black Disciples, Vice Lords, and Gangster Disciples use mortgage fraud schemes that employ straw purchasers and unscrupulous mortgage brokers and appraisers to purchase properties at a minimal cost and sell them at a higher value to a third party. The gang members receive the profits from the sales, seemingly legitimizing the income, while their associates typically default on the loans, often defrauding banks or mortgage companies.

11.23.2009

The Facebook Gang