AG Fitch launches Mississippi’s first Cyber Fraud Task Force

Attorney General Lynn Fitch has joined the U.S. Secret Service to create Mississippi’s first Cyber Fraud Task Force. The mission of the newly established task force is to prevent, detect, and mitigate cyber-enabled financial crimes, and arrest and convict Mississippi’s most harmful perpetrators.

“Mississippi is home to some of the Nation’s leading investigators, and this Task Force allows for greater coordination, sharing of expertise and resources, and powerful partnerships intended to stop the proliferation of cyber-enabled financial crimes in Mississippi,” said Attorney General Lynn Fitch. “Together, we will hold those accountable who seek to exploit the vulnerable for their own illicit gain.”

The Cyber Fraud Task Force will effectively leverage the collective expertise of key stakeholders necessary to combat cybercrime. Mississippi’s Cyber Fraud Task Force will be staffed with special agents, technical experts, and forensic analysts operating in the Digital Evidence Forensic Lab located at the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office.

“The Secret Service is proud to join efforts with our law enforcement partners in Jackson and across the state,” said Patrick Davis, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service Birmingham Field Office. “The Secret Service is steadfast in our commitment to support the Attorney General of Mississippi with the opening of the Mississippi Cyber Fraud Task Force by
way of joint cyber-enabled financial crime investigations and through resources made possible through the Secret Service National Computer Forensics Institute in Alabama.”

Joining the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office on the Cyber Fraud Task Force are the Mississippi State Auditor’s Office, Mississippi Gaming Commission, Hinds County District Attorney’s Office, Forrest/Perry District Attorney’s Office, Covington Sheriff’s Office, and the Forrest County Sheriff’s Office. Other agencies are expected to join the Task Force as well.