The buy was set for 11:15 a.m., May 21, 1997. The place, the smoking room for gates 60 to 67 in the American Airlines terminal at San Francisco International Airport. The seller, code-named Smak, approached, carrying an encrypted CD-ROM packed with stolen credit card numbers. Smak figured he was about to collect a quarter million dollars in cash. What he didn't realize, of course, was that he was walking straight into an FBI sting...

In the age of the Internet, cybercops are developing new methods to combat criminals like Smak. This investigation introduces you to the agents and agencies tracking cybercrimes: from hacking to credit card fraud, online threats to child pornography. It's a firsthand report on how this new breed catches its prey, including the first behind-the-scenes account of how the FBI nailed the hacker known as Smak, who stole more than 100,000 credit card numbers.

In the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is the premier agency fighting online malfeasance&£45;-but it isn't alone. U.S. Customs may be the most underpublicized agency protecting the Net, but it boasts an impressive record of child pornographer arrests. Local law enforcement is logging on as well: cybercrime units in San Jose, California; Houston, Texas; and New York City are up and running, and more are on their way.

Yet some of the new methods these agencies are developing have themselves provoked controversy among cybercitizens concerned about their privacy rights. One hot-button issue: proposed measures that would help law enforcement break encryption codes during criminal investigations.

Before you close the case on these important issues, learn how these new online cops really do their jobs, and meet some of the criminals they bring down. If you think the job sounds like a piece of cake, take our Cybercop Academy entrance exam and see if you've got what it takes to be a cybercop.

((c) CNET)