Support Center Served Over 2,000 Identity Thieves 25
wiredmikey writes "The operator of an online business that assisted over 2,000 identity thieves in over 5,000 instances of fraud pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire and credit card fraud this week. The Belarus man operated a service that helped fellow online thieves use stolen information by providing English language calling services to trick banks in the United States. The service helped counteract security measures put in place by financial institutions to prevent fraud when account holders try to make transfers or withdrawals from their accounts. In exchange for a fee, the two men provided the services of English- and German-speaking individuals to persons who had stolen account and biographical information to defeat the security screening processes."
Re:Support Centers (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm not sure that they have to all stay in the country, but what this whole thing really illustrates quite clearly is that it's that much more difficult to ensure that our laws are being respected when the work is being done overseas. The US does not have the power to enforce its laws in India anymore than the French have the right to enforce their laws in Mexico, which leads to all sorts of complications.
Unfortunately even a company that's just looking to cut the cost of labor can find itself in a position where the employees are not complying with the law in the US and have to solve that.
The easiest solution is to just not go offshore, but it isn't the most efficient, given that it's often times quite efficient to have some tech support done on the other side of the world. A problem sent in at just before closing time can be solved and answered somewhat before the customer gets up in the morning without making somebody stay up all night.