Some crimes are multi-faceted. In one case, for example, the Justice Department alleges that the defendants set up a phony online bank in order to collect personal information from unsuspecting visitors. The defendants allegedly turned around and used the stolen identities to commit credit card fraud.

Another case involves a California couple with a Russian-speaking wife who swindled more than 400 lonely men worldwide out of about $3,000 each by creating a bogus international dating agency. Government officials say there was no dating agency. The couple simply invented women from Russia and Ukraine looking to marry men from countries like the United States.

The vastness and scope of the Internet, as well as its ever changing nature, make it difficult for the federal government to crack down on all cyber crime. Operation E-Con is a joint effort of the FBI, U.S. Attorneys' Offices, the Federal Trade Commission, the Postal Inspection Service, the Secret Service, and the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Even if law and order is brought to the Internet in the future, like the rest of society, it will probably never be completely safe. It will be up to consumers to go the extra mile to ensure that they aren't taken advantage of electronically.

Here are a few things you can do to help stop online thieves:

 Make sure you're dealing with a bona fide business before giving out any personal information. Skillful con artists set up look-alike Web sites to separate consumers from their money and their private information. Does the business list an address and phone number? Make a note of the information and keep an e-mail confirmation or final checkout page as a record of your order.

Buying Prescription Drugs Online     In one scam described by the FBI, suspects used a Web site to sell more than $2 million worth of pharmaceutical drugs without prescriptions or physician involvement.     Click here for advice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about purchasing medicine and medical products online.

 Know the laws. For example, under the FTC's Mail or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule, all retailers must ship an order within the time stated in their ads or on their Web sites. If a company doesn't promise an earlier time, an order must be shipped within 30 days after receiving it.

If the company is unable to keep its shipping promises, it is required to send a prompt notice to customers with a revised shipping date. At that time, customers must agree to the delay or be allowed to cancel the order and receive a refund.

 Use a secure browser. Before placing an order, check the browser for a symbol of a locked padlock in the corner. These Web sites have standards that encrypt or scramble the purchase information you send over the Internet, ensuring the security of the transaction.

 Use common sense. You've heard the old saying: "If an offer seems too good to be true . . . it probably is." This is as true in the virtual world as it is in the offline world. If there are any doubts, walk away until the doubts can be alleviated.