The arrests followed a three-month investigation into a range of crimes from reselling co-workers' Social Security numbers to disabling Web sites, Ashcroft said.

"The common thread here is the Internet," he told a news conference. "We do not believe the Internet to be off base for law enforcement. We will be there with as much intensity and presence as we can muster."

Officials from the Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said the crackdown is designed to deter cybercriminals and reassure consumers and businesses that the Internet is safe.

"The Internet is stimulating the development of innovative products and services that were barely imaginable only a few years ago," said FTC chairwoman Deborah Majoras. "There is a risk, however, that these benefits will not be fully realized if consumers associate the Internet with fraudulent operators."

The crackdown, dubbed "Operation Web Snare," involved some 150,000 victims who lost more than $215 million, Ashcroft said, adding that 53 people had already been convicted.
 

Law enforcement officials in Romania, Nigeria and Cyprus helped track down people involved in fraudulent auctions, trafficking in stolen credit card numbers and other crimes, Ashcroft said.

In all, authorities have opened more than 160 investigations and filed 117 criminal complaints, indictments and other court papers, according to the Justice Department.

As a result of one investigation, for example, a grand jury on Wednesday indicted the chief executive of a Massachusetts communications company and five other people suspected of launching an Internet attack against competing companies.

The indictment against Jay Echouafni accuses him of using computer hackers in the United States and Britain to disable the Web sites of three competitors.

The episode cost Echouafni's rivals more than $2 million in lost revenue and extra costs, Ashcroft said.

In another case, federal prosecutors in Los Angeles filed charges Aug. 20 against a man who they say stole almost $800,000 over the Internet by conducting more than 5,000 fraudulent sales through the online auction site eBay.

Ashcroft also said he was ordering prosecutors to put into effect new, stiffer penalties against identity theft that were recently enacted by Congress.