Internet

Federal and state law enforcement agencies in the Midwest are teaming up to catch Internet crooks.

The Federal Trade Commission's Midwest Netforce Internet Fraud Initiative announced Tuesday that its members have filed 19 cases since the effort began in February.

The Netforce includes state attorneys general, federal agencies and state and local law enforcement officials.

Steven Baker of the FTC says Internet scams have grown rapidly in recent years. The cases filed involve Internet auction schemes, illegal commodity trading and fake businesses.

The agencies use a joint database to track fraud on the Web and decide who is best suited to pursue the scam artists.