KENNER, La. (WVUE) – A Kenner detective may have busted a massive identity theft scheme by shutting down a Russian-run website targeting Louisiana residents.

The investigation began in September when a wave of identical text messages pinged phones across the state, asking recipients to visit a website and pay a $3.75 toll fee to get allegedly driven on a Louisiana toll road.

Kenner Police Detective Brad Ricke, who received one of those messages, says the scam was deceptive.

“It said you drove on a Louisiana toll road and you had to go to this website to pay a $3.75 fee to drive on the road,” Ricke explained. “If you fail to pay these fees, you will be fined $30. »

When Ricke visited the website Geauxpass.info, he found what appeared to be an official site featuring the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) logo. The website asked for personal information and credit card details, but Ricke, an experienced cybercrime investigator, suspected something was wrong.

“The only thing that worked on this website were the parties that collected your personal information. Name, email address, date of birth, phone number,” Ricke said. “Once I determined that it was most likely a fake, I contacted LA DOTD and spoke with members there and they ended up confirming that it was good from a fake.”

He then alerted Kenner Police Chief Keith Conley, who encouraged him to pursue the case.

“It’s kind of like a detective novel, so I said yeah, follow it and see where it goes,” Conley said.

In the past, when Kenner police discovered a scam like this, Ricke says the department would alert residents to be vigilant with their phones and finances. But beyond that, the police were limited in what they could do.

Instead of issuing a warning alone, Ricke decided to work toward shutting down the operation entirely.

“We needed to close it as quickly as possible,” Ricke said. “You want to shut him down so he’s not actively scamming anyone.”

He contacted the Department of Homeland Security Investigations.

“We are a federal law enforcement agency and we conduct federal criminal investigations on a global scale,” commented Special Agent Jessica Zuppardo.

Zuppardo says the text Ricke received is a clear example of a smishing scam.

“This is a cyberattack that uses a fake text message to trick people into sharing sensitive information,” Zuppardo explained.

She believes the attack targeted people across the state and in other parts of the country.

“I work with a lot of people who have out-of-state area codes and they also get messages but related to the state their area code is from,” Zuppardo said.

Federal investigators were able to determine that the website originated from a server located in Russia. Finding those responsible is not such a simple task.

“What can you do?” The Kenner police can’t go to Russia and arrest anyone,” Ricke said.

However, he obtained a search warrant from a Jefferson Parish judge, allowing the seizure of the fake website, an unprecedented action for Kenner police.

“I don’t know of any other local agency that has done this before,” he continued.

Chief Conley recognized the groundbreaking nature of this case.

“It took me a while to understand what he was talking about. Then when he showed me the banner and told me that all this traffic was being redirected to us to show that it was a fraud, that kind of sunk him and I thought that it was pretty cool,” Conley said. “The judge called him and congratulated him because they had never seen anything like this before either. The work he has done has actually saved citizens money, reduced anxiety and having to reset their identity if it was stolen.

Cybersecurity expert Nam Nguyen says that while smishing scams are common, the response from Kenner law enforcement has been exceptional.

“I was actually quite impressed that they found the right organization to report the issue to, to collaborate with and remove it, I thought that was pretty awesome.

Ricke and the department are now sharing their approach with neighboring law enforcement agencies.

“Many surrounding municipalities and sheriff’s offices contacted us for additional information, which we gladly shared,” Conley said.

It may just be baby steps in this new frontier of fighting cybercrime, but Conley says, “Now it’s like a game of whack-a-mole, but who knows, maybe it will eventually lead to to other larger seizures from other servers. »

If you visited the fake Geaux Pass website and gave your credit card information, investigators advise you to closely monitor your personal information to ensure you have not been a victim and to contact law enforcement. local order to file a report if you have.

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