by Keith Lubsen

FBI Special Agent Kim Jensen gave an introduction to Terrorism. Agent Jensen clearly has a commanding knowledge about Radical Islamic Terrorists and their surrounding networks. He presented a fascinating and very in depth outline of some known terrorists, their background and belief systems.  If all Americans were able to see Agent Jensens presentation I feel there would be a much greater understanding of Radical Islamic Terrorists.

Next, FBI Special Agent Bretzing made a clear connection between various terrorists, Identity Theft and related crimes. As these terror organizations need funding, many have turned to economic crimes to fund their operations. It is difficult for law enforcement in the United States to prosecute individuals funding terrorists as those sending money from the US to abroad can only be prosecuted if they are knowingly funding terrorists. Thus, the individuals sending funds just say that they are sending money to a friend or family member to help them and that they have no idea what the funds are being used for.

Agent Bretzing described the Suspicious Activity Reports (SAR’s) used by financial institutions to report suspicious financial activity to law enforcement. These reports on their own are of little help, but when many reports are put into a database and carefully looked at, patterns begin to appear. These patterns can help law enforcement identify which SAR’s reports merit further investigation. The SAR’s are required to be filed by financial institutions within 30 days of the suspicious transaction.

Thank you to the Utah AG’s office: Mark Shurtleff, Scott Morrill, Rich Hamp, John Kimball and everyone else at the Utah Office of The Attorney General for their tireless and outstanding work in the fight against identity theft.