Post Description

The Secret Service was created to safeguard the United States Currency. It also protects the President and other officials. Nat Geo looks inside the agency. 


Before 9/11 the Secret Service was under the umbrella of the Department of the Treasury. It has since been moved to the Department of Homeland Security. When it was created in 1865 its official business was to catch and stop counterfeiters. In 1913 the agency broadened its duties to protect the President of the United States. In 1917 the president?s family was placed under the care of the Secret Service. Through the years those under the protection of the Secret Service widened, yet the main duty of the Service was to protect the currency. In 2002 it was placed under the newly formed Department of Homeland Security.


Frontline New York City

In this episode the agents go after credit card fraud. New York City, Tokyo, and London are the largest financial centers in the world. The New York Field Office is the largest Secret Service field office in the country.
Besides credit card fraud, this episode focuses on the Electronic Crimes Taskforce (ECT) as well as cyber crimes. Trojans and other dangerous programs can infiltrate computers and cause havoc in the financial market. What is interesting is to see how the Secret Service uses computer forensics to check PDAs, cell phones and computers.