Texans for Economic Progress

Waco Tribune
By Mike Copeland Tribune-Herald business editor

The Internet provides remarkable benefits to society, but sexual predators and scammers who want to steal personal or business information make it a dangerous law-breaking tool.

That’s what Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott told a crowd of about 100 during a stop in Waco on Thursday.

“The Internet has attracted a criminal element more than anything I’ve ever seen,” said Abbott, who became attorney general in 2002, was re-elected in 2006 and has created the Cyber Crimes Unit to arrest criminals who use the Internet to prey on children.

Abbott said 90,000 registered sex offenders are signed up to chat with others on the popular MySpace community site. Meanwhile, he said his office has arrested 110 sexual predators who set up times and places to meet 13-year-old girls they met online.

These “girls” were actually Abbott’s staffers.

But this problem will never be solved with arrests, Abbott said, which is why he’s hoping to raise awareness of cyber crimes. He spoke Thursday at the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce headquarters in a conference co-hosted by Texans for Economic Progress. Read More.

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posted: Jun 17, 02:12 PM