The FBI has arrested 53 people in "Operation Phish Phry," one of the first cases being prosecuted involving a huge fraudulent scheme based on phishing. We report this week on the 86-page indictment that lays out a classic case where the defendants tricked people into giving up their bank account information online.

This kind of probe is relatively new in the world of federal criminal investigations, and we are heartened that law enforcement is starting to pay attention to this kind of virulent crime.

This case involves the largest number of defendants ever charged in a cybercrime case, according to the FBI. The indictment alleges that a multinational criminal organization had stolen at least $2 million through fraudulent bank account transfers in the past two years.

The case highlights the thorny problem of phishing, in which online scammers send email messages and build websites that look authentic and trustworthy, get unsuspecting individuals to supply sensitive information like usernames, passwords and credit card numbers.

These kind of cases are becoming more prevalent. Last week, we reported that more than 10,000 addresses and passwords for customer accounts on Hotmail had been phished and stolen. In a separate, recent case, more than 20,000 addresses and passwords for accounts on Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo and AOL were posted on a website, and the Internet companies are scrambling to help customers recover their accounts.

We worry that law enforcement is not working hard enough on this growing problem. Some law enforcement agencies have cybercrime units, but many do not, and they are not connected and do not understand the extent and the impact of this kind of criminal act.

Many law enforcement agencies that are tackling this issue are still in their infancy when it comes to handling this kind of crime, and there will be a learning curve. The FBI case was international in scope as are many of these cases, creating jurisdictional issues and the need for law enforcement to cooperate across borders.

Hopefully cybercrime will be moved to the front burner and made a priority by law enforcement around the country, and worldwide. Computer attacks, identity theft and online fleecing are not going away, they will only grow. - Judi