The United States Secret Service is best-known for protecting public officials, but they also are a key line of defense against cybercrime.
Those efforts to combat online fraud and other types of crimes involve plenty of manpower, and the agency is giving NBC Chicago an exclusive look at how they aim to keep consumers safe.
The Secret Service operates a field office in Chicago, and its cyber crime lab is stocked with the latest technology to help protect residents.
“This is a fairly new space,” Joe Kefer, the assistant to the Special Agent in Charge in the Chicago office, said. “Prior to this, we had a space that was about a fifth of what you are seeing here.”
The Digital Evidence Forensic Lab is constantly evolving with new technology, with technicians now able to extract evidence from a wide variety of electronic devices, including cell phones damaged by fire or water.
Kefer says that most instances of consumer fraud in the United States now involve the use of technology, and the Secret Service is aiming to respond to that growth in the crime rate.
“There’s so much fraud out there due to technology. This lab is essentially a response to the growth in technology,” he said.
Local
The Secret Service also investigates electronic crimes that target children, working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, along with the federal Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce.
At the local level, the Secret Service also works with law enforcement in Chicago and the suburbs to help solve cybercrimes.
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“All our local partners step up to help us when we have someone like the president in town, and this is a way for us to give back,” Assistant Special Agent in Charge James Morley said.
Chicago’s Secret Service Field Office is looking to expand and hire more agents as part of the effort to combat crime.
“There’s plenty of work to go around, and we could definitely use any additional assets or manpower that we could get,” Morley said.
More information can be found on the Secret Service’s website.
