NCJ Number
218306
Journal
FBI: Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 76 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2007 Pages: 1-8
Date Published
May 2007
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This article describes the response of the Anaheim Police Department to the growing problem of fraudulent online hotel booking.
Abstract
When the problem of fraudulent online hotel booking came to the attention of the Anaheim Police Department (California), officers undertook a problem-oriented policing (POP) approach that employed the use of SARA (scanning, analysis, response, and assessment) to combat this crime and related crime and public safety issues, such as narcotics trafficking and local street crime. The first task of Anaheim police officers was to define the problem (scanning), which involved linking crimes in the Anaheim hotel district to fraudulently booked hotel rooms. Police officers interviewed hotel personnel and Internet-booking companies and discovered they had their own system of dealing with the problem that did not involve notifying the police. Armed with this information, officers moved to the analysis stage of the SARA approach, which involved a more detailed analysis of how these crimes were carried out and their consequences from the perspectives of the three most affected stakeholders: (1) Internet-booking companies; (2) hotels; and (3) police. Perpetrators arrested for fraudulently booking hotel rooms were questioned regarding their methods and motivations and case study analysis further shed light on how individuals committed fraudulent online hotel booking by exploiting vulnerabilities in the reservation and communication processes. Following the detailed analysis of the crime, the Anaheim Police Department developed an appropriate response that involved a collaborative approach between Internet-booking companies, hotels, and the Anaheim Police Department. This approach included the tightening of online security measures, the education of hotel staff concerning suspicious guests, and the notification of police. Assessment of the strategy indicated that it has worked to decrease fraudulent online hotel booking and related crimes in the Anaheim hotel district. Endnotes