As many of you are aware there exists an internet website called Whosarat.com. That website purports to provide to its members the identities of actual law enforcement confidential informants and law enforcement officers, particularly undercover police officers. Recently, headquarters has passed along important information gathered by Minneapolis law enforcement authorities regarding the Whosarat.com website. Everyone should read the e-mail from Minneapolis, which is below in its entirety, and avoid visiting the site or the many other similar websites that exist on the internet.
Authorized by ASAC Kevin Lane
MINNEAPOLISPD
Subject: Update on WhosARat.com
Please let everyone know that the Whosarat.com website is not to be
trifled with. It is a reverse look up site that will grab the inquirer's
web IP address and add your info to the list of inquiring officers. The
website is owned by a former brilliant defense attorney who ingeniously
developed his plan. He originally sent a flyer to almost every law
enforcement agency in the USinforming them that there is a website
coming out known as, "whosarat.com". He failed to mention he was the
owner.
He informed all LE agencies that they should have their undercover guys
go on the site to see if they had been compromised. Well initially, he
did not have any intel but soon enough as soon as every good u/c cop in
the country began checking the site, he soon had a great list to add to
his site.
Trust me fellow officers, even if your curious, stay off the site. If
you're not on there already, a simple inquiry from you will easily add
you to the site.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Whosarat.com is a controversial
website, which, in its words, allows individuals to "post, share and
request any and all information that has been made public at some point
to at least 1 person of the public prior to posting it on this site
pertaining to local, state and federal Informants and Law Enforcement
Officers."
The site was founded in August 2004 by Sean Bucci, who is fighting
marijuana dealing charges. A Boston Herald story quoted him as saying
"I'm trying to level the playing field." His experiences gave him "a
deep, deep hate for the system for the way they handle informants."
The site's extensive disclaimer notes that in part that "All posts made
by users should be considered as inaccurate opinions unless backed by
official documents." It urges members to "Please post informants that
are involved with nonviolent crimes only."
The Department of Homeland Security is said to have issued an advisory
about the site, warning law enforcement officers not even to view the
site. "Visiting the site could result in the compromise of government IP
addresses. Searching the site for a particular name could result in that
name being cross-indexed to the IP address of the computer used to make
the inquiry. Searching for the names of officers or informants could
compromise those individual's identities. Any website is capable of
collecting IP address and search information from visitors, but this
site is remarkable because it makes visitor information public."
The site believes it is protected by legal precedents set in connection
with another website, charmichaelcase, which also posts information
about informants. ProEthics, Ltd., an ethics training and consulting
firm, named Whosarat.com its Unethical Website of the Month for August,
2004.
If any further questions go to
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-11-30-informants_x.htm for further details.
Authorized by ASAC Kevin Lane
MINNEAPOLISPD
Subject: Update on WhosARat.com
Please let everyone know that the Whosarat.com website is not to be
trifled with. It is a reverse look up site that will grab the inquirer's
web IP address and add your info to the list of inquiring officers. The
website is owned by a former brilliant defense attorney who ingeniously
developed his plan. He originally sent a flyer to almost every law
enforcement agency in the USinforming them that there is a website
coming out known as, "whosarat.com". He failed to mention he was the
owner.
He informed all LE agencies that they should have their undercover guys
go on the site to see if they had been compromised. Well initially, he
did not have any intel but soon enough as soon as every good u/c cop in
the country began checking the site, he soon had a great list to add to
his site.
Trust me fellow officers, even if your curious, stay off the site. If
you're not on there already, a simple inquiry from you will easily add
you to the site.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Whosarat.com is a controversial
website, which, in its words, allows individuals to "post, share and
request any and all information that has been made public at some point
to at least 1 person of the public prior to posting it on this site
pertaining to local, state and federal Informants and Law Enforcement
Officers."
The site was founded in August 2004 by Sean Bucci, who is fighting
marijuana dealing charges. A Boston Herald story quoted him as saying
"I'm trying to level the playing field." His experiences gave him "a
deep, deep hate for the system for the way they handle informants."
The site's extensive disclaimer notes that in part that "All posts made
by users should be considered as inaccurate opinions unless backed by
official documents." It urges members to "Please post informants that
are involved with nonviolent crimes only."
The Department of Homeland Security is said to have issued an advisory
about the site, warning law enforcement officers not even to view the
site. "Visiting the site could result in the compromise of government IP
addresses. Searching the site for a particular name could result in that
name being cross-indexed to the IP address of the computer used to make
the inquiry. Searching for the names of officers or informants could
compromise those individual's identities. Any website is capable of
collecting IP address and search information from visitors, but this
site is remarkable because it makes visitor information public."
The site believes it is protected by legal precedents set in connection
with another website, charmichaelcase, which also posts information
about informants. ProEthics, Ltd., an ethics training and consulting
firm, named Whosarat.com its Unethical Website of the Month for August,
2004.
If any further questions go to
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-11-30-informants_x.htm for further details.