Cybercrime in Clark County is growing problem, say experts

David Strow

Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2001 | 10:41 a.m.

When people think of casino robberies, they usually think of a bad guy with a mask and a gun.

But robbers these days are far more likely to use a Pentium 4 computer rather than a .357 Magnum.

Lt. Steve Franks, who runs Metro Police's financial crimes division, said $1 million a month in financial crimes are being reported in Clark County. But that's less than 10 percent of the actual theft that's occurring, he said.

"For every 10 cents you lose in physical theft, you'll lose 100 cents in cybertheft," Franks said. "It's just unbelievable."

Last week members of the Las Vegas Electronic Crimes Task Force -- comprised of U.S. Secret Service agents and Metro officers -- spoke at "Casino Security in Turbulent Times," a one-day seminar.

One big reason companies do not report such attacks is that they don't want them publicized. But task force officials assured casino security officers that shouldn't be a concern.

"We will hold in the highest regard your need for confidentiality," Metro Detective Steve Tafoya said.

Despite all the attention given to the Internet and to high-profile hacker attacks, the task force members said the use of computers to forge checks, credit cards and identification cards is a far greater problem today, one that's already taking a bite at casinos across the city.

One method used by forgers, Franks said, involves borrowing a paycheck from a casino employee. The check is scanned and the amount removed. The forger then prints new checks with new amounts -- sometimes several hundred -- and cashes them all over town. Many of these forgeries never get reported to Metro, Franks said.

"We've got to get tougher in this city, to put this to a stop," Franks said.

But what can casinos do? Franks said a casino that's been hit hard by forgery rings should pass the word around town to any place that cashes checks--including banks, casinos and bars -- to demand some form of ID from anyone trying to cash one of their payroll checks. One casino that started doing this saw its losses from payroll check forgery fall to zero, Franks said.

Fake IDs are also a problem casinos must confront. With advances in computer technology and a plethora of black market-style websites, false IDs that are nearly impossible to identify are becoming common.

"One of the biggest issues we've dealt with is the simplicity with which a person can use a computer to create these (fake) documents," said Metro Detective Garry Dale.

But the risk goes beyond a teenager using a fake ID to get a beer or play a slot machine. With a fake ID, a person can check into a hotel room, run up a huge bill, and depart without a trace, leaving the hotel on the hook.

"I've seen charges of up to $25,000 from one weekend (with fake IDs)," Dale said.

Of course, there is also the risk to casinos of cybercrime of another source -- the use of computer networks and the Internet to hack into casino computers, both for purposes of sabotage and theft. Though no high-profile attacks by hackers have been reported at Las Vegas casinos yet, that is only a matter of time, panelists agreed.

"You have millions of people knocking at your virtual door, trying to get in every day," said Secret Service agent Robert Jones. "If they already haven't (hacked a casino), you could be next."

Hits have been made at other businesses in the Valley. In one instance, a "very big hospital" had its computer system knocked out by a hacker. In another case, a bank employee was able to disable the ATM network of a local credit union for 48 hours.

But the electronic task force isn't helpless in dealing with such attacks, even if conducted over the Internet. In both cases, police were able to track down and apprehend the hackers within hours.

"We can catch them," Jones said. "We have that capability."

But Carter Kim, assistant special agent in charge of the Secret Service's Las Vegas office, emphasized that casinos must touch base with Metro and the Secret Service even before the attacks occur.

"One of the key things we've learned ... is if we're not aware of the technology a company has, it slows the (investigation) process down," Kim said. "Rather than being an emergency response task force, we're trying to be a preventative task force. We want to be prepared."