October: Cybersecurity Awareness Month

by Robin Sax

Did you know October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month? Although it's intended to teach Internet users about reporting and avoiding crime, I'd never heard about until recently -- and I live in the world of Internet crime and safety! This is actually the sixth year the Department of Homeland Security has marked Cybersecurity Awareness. They put on events and have lots of information on how to stay safe on the Internet. See http://dhs.gov/ for more details. The information on their site is important to review (for those of us who use the Internet – just a few billion of us), and not many of those billion people know where to get the resources or knowledge to implement Internet safety.

For example, do you know where to file a complaint about a crime that involved the Internet? If you answered law enforcement or the FBI, you get partial credit. The actual answer is much more complicated, an entire protocol for where and how to report crimes related to the ever-growing World Wide Web.

To determine some of the federal investigative law enforcement agencies that may be appropriate for reporting certain kinds of Internet crime, please refer to the following table:

As you can see, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) noted quite a lot on this chart. So what is the IC3? I bet you didn’t even know that it existed. In their own words, The Internet Crime Complaint Center “is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C). IC3’s mission is to serve as a vehicle to receive, develop, and refer criminal complaints regarding the rapidly expanding arena of cybercrime. The IC3 gives the victims of cybercrime a convenient and easy-to-use reporting mechanism that alerts authorities of suspected criminal or civil violations. For law enforcement and regulatory agencies at the federal, state, and local level, IC3 provides a central referral mechanism for complaints involving Internet related crimes.”

IC3 seems to give an appearance of some sort of coordinated effort between agencies - at least in the reporting of Internet crime. That is a good thing. But what about before the crime occurs – is there a coordinated effort to prevent the crime. In other words, if someone is reporting a crime it means that most likely someone was already victimized. Is after the fact reporting enough? OR do we need to figure out how to police the Web prior to victimization?

The Internet is the largest city in the world. It literally has portals and accessibility to everyone—adults, children, young, old, thieves, pervs, predators, and hundreds of millions of others. While there may be individual rules and regulations for specific sites, or in specific countries, there is very little “law of the land” -- other than the concept of what is illegal in real life is illegal online as well.

There are many Internet crimes that are readily known due to effective media, astute educators - who take the time to bring information to their school communities, successful public relations campaigns, or from the unfortunate victimization of people we hear about or even our own family and friends.

Most people have heard of -or use- social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and My Space and also know some online lingo (such as LOL, TTYS, etc.). Many people have heard of concepts such as texting, tweeting, sexting, and cyber-bullying. But there are literally of hundreds of aspects of the Internet that we don’t know about…and we may never know about. There is an underground to the Internet, and it can be very scary.

So what do we do? Bury our heads? Pretend it is not happening? Just complain about it? How about we learn about what we don’t know. Staying current with technology is a must our world today. Figuring out what things are worthy of fear and what things are not can save us from a lot of anxiety. It is critical that we keep our knowledge current about Internet “threats” and can be prepared to face them.

And even though I am going to give you some simple steps you take today to be safer on the Internet, the best way to even know what we are worried about is to peruse, search, and click through the Internet. You can't fear something that you don't know about. Don't simply trust the hype, check it out for yourself. For example, many parents fear "Facebook" but I happen to think that Facebook is among the safer social networking sites out there. They actually have a protocol for dealing with hate crimes, pervs, and bullies. They have security and privacy measures and work diligently to address the issues as the site grows. Is every social networking site that way? No way!! And our social networking sites the only place where trouble lurks? No way. There are websites, ad-sites, instant messaging services, and many more avenues where trouble can surface.

So what's the answer? Know what you don't know. I know it seems daunting and time consuming and it can be. But don't let it!!! Chip away with a places, click through, check it out, and if you need help ASK!!! Want to know what your kids are doing online and can't bear checking yourself? There are sources and resources for help. But if nothing else, keep these tips in mind:

For Your Computer

• Make sure that you have anti-virus software and firewalls installed, properly configured, and up-to-date. New threats are discovered every day, and keeping your software updated is one of the easier ways to protect yourself from an attack. Set your computer to automatically update for you.
• Update your operating system and critical program software. Software updates offer the latest protection against malicious activities. Turn on automatic updating if that feature is available.
• Back up key files. If you have important files stored on your computer, copy them onto a removable disc and store it in a safe place.

For Yourself (Habits To Adopt)

• If you get deceptive spam, including email “phishing” for your information (that means a scam site that is looking for you to input your personal information for the purpose of stealing it), forward it immediately to spam@uce.gov. Be sure to include the full Internet header of the email. Also forward the email to the company, bank, or organization that is impersonated in the phishing email.
• Use strong passwords or strong authentication technology to help protect your personal information.
• If your computer gets hacked or infected by a virus immediately unplug the phone or cable line from your machine. Then scan your entire computer with fully updated anti-virus software, and update your firewall.
• If a scammer takes advantage of you through an Internet auction, when you're shopping online, or in any other way, report it to the Federal Trade Commission, at ftc.gov.

For Your Friends, Family, Colleagues

• Use regular communications in your business (newsletters, e-mail alerts, etc.) and in your home (conversations with your partner and children) to increase awareness on Internet safety issues.
• Set up household and workplace rules on issues such as updating software processes, protecting personal information, securing your wireless network, software downloads, spyware, email attachments.
• Make your preferences clear to your friends regarding email “Forwards” and suspicious attachments.

For more tips, visit: http://http//www.staysafeonline.org/top-tips

Bottom line: educate yourself, be smart, be safe online! Treat the online community like a city street – walk where there are lights, don’t travel in a back ally, keep your senses alert, don’t trust strangers, etc. A small amount of preparation will go a long way in protecting yourself and your family!

Tweet

When Stalking Goes Hi-Tech

by Robin Sax

Caller I.D., digital cameras, email, online bank accounts, pda’s, social networking websites—all are forms of technology that we use in our everyday lives to communicate, be readily accessible, preserve memories, and simplify our lives. In today’s fast-paced world, these modern technologies have become more than convenient--they have become necessities.

Unfortunately, as with all things, there’s a flip side to these very handy devices. They can be used against us by people who wish to do us harm or—at the very least—create havoc in our lives. Tech-savvy criminals can turn our favorite timesavers into tools to stalk, harass, and harm us.

While stalking and harassment are neither new crimes nor a new phenomenon, with the growth and expansion of technology the criminal’s stockpile of weapons has expanded. They no longer need to rely solely on using the postal service, or sneaking around a victim’s home, or listening on land lines to commit their crimes. As recent studies by the United States Department of Justice show, 78% of stalkers use more than one means to contact and harass their victims.

There is no greater consequence of the misuse of technology than in cases of stalking and harassment. Here, the combination of a criminal’s arsenal of technological weapons and the criminal’s desire for aggression puts the victim not only in a compromising position, but in a potentially lethal one.

So what can victims or would-be victims do to protect themselves in our high-tech society? Alexis A. Moore, a cyber-crime expert, boiled it down to her “Top 5” tips to protect ourselves from high-tech stalkers and cyberstalkers.

1. Do not rely on caller ID when deciding to answer the phone. Caller ID spoofing is a common practice used by high-tech cyberstalkers to deceive victims into answering the telephone to harass and frighten them. Those relying upon their Caller ID systems should be aware that for a small fee anyone may go online and purchase Caller ID spoof technology. This enables them to program their Caller ID to reveal any number and name they wish. Stalkers often use familiar telephone numbers to trick the unsuspecting victim into answering the phone. Screen your phone calls allow the answering machine to pick up and then answer. By allowing the answering machine to pick up, the stalkers may leave a message that could later be used as evidence in a civil or criminal proceeding. If it’s an important call, the calling party will leave a message. Be sure you stay in control of your safety and security!

2. Password protects all accounts including utilities. Passwords protect all accounts that will allow for this additional privacy protection measure. Besides adding a password to your accounts, also request to have the agency/entity contact you if there are any changes made to your accounts, including requests for account closures, electronic funds transfers or account cancellations. These techniques are often utilized by stalkers to maintain control over their victims. It is not uncommon for stalkers who have gone high-tech to cancel their victim’s utilities and telephones, make electronic funds transfers from their bank accounts, and/or close/cancel credit cards. Today, anyone sitting behind a computer screen can access an unsuspecting victim’s accounts without the risk of being tracked.

3. Notify family, friends and co-workers to withhold information about you from any third party. High-tech stalkers using caller-id spoofs and other means may contact third parties under false pretenses to obtain vital information about the victim’s activities and whereabouts. Anyone who contacts a third party for information about a possible victim should be given no information at all! High-tech predators can use the phone, e-mail or may send third parties ruses such as class reunions or even floral deliveries to find out the victim’s whereabouts and activities. In some cases predators have pretended to be law enforcement officers! Always ask for a call-back number to verify the caller’s identity and always error on the side of safety and privacy first. A good motto is always “Less information is best”!

4. Maintain old e-mail accounts and phone numbers and create new ones. When under siege by a high-tech stalker or cyberstalker, keep old cell phone and e-mail accounts open. A victim of stalking should use an old cell phone number, knowing that the stalker may access their present phone records and known e-mail accounts. To thwart a stalker or potential stalker, call and e-mail contacts you don’t do business with, make appointments by phone with doctors’ offices you won’t be treated by, attorneys you won’t be consulting with. In this way, you are throwing obstacles in the stalker’s path and keeping your daily activities private. An evasive cyberstalker will try to learn the victim’s activities and schedule, including appointments, to manipulate and harass their victims. Remember, you are you own best privacy advocate!

5. Place credit freezes on all 3 credit bureaus: Today, without an identity change, it is often impossible for many to protect their credit and personal information from attack by a vicious high-tech stalker. . Stalkers often will apply for credit using the victim’s name to damage his or her credit rating. If this happens, contact the three national credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and Trans Union, and place a security freeze upon their credit bureau accounts, Simply ask for their particular policies and procedures to place the freeze upon your credit. This will save you endless hours to repair their your if the stalker attempts to tamper with it. An ounce of prevention is a pound of cure!

And just to add to the list, I offer five more to chew on:

1) Protect your personal information. Social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace have taken the world by storm. Always limit the personal information you put on your profile, pictures and messaging. Even if your profile is set to “private”, there is always a chance that tech-savvy criminals can get to you. Most of these sites have instant messaging capabilities, so there is really no reason to provide any additional contact information.

2) For both social networking sites and general emails, choosing a gender-neutral username can limit the amount of attention you receive. Cute, flirty or sexual usernames can easily draw the attention of a cyber stalker, or give online criminals the impression you are an easy target.

3) Avoid using a work computer or email account for personal use. If a cyber stalker uncovers the IP address used by a business, they can find out where you work.

4) PDA’s, cell phones, computers and email accounts all can be password protected. Locking these devices provides greater security for personal information should they ever fall into criminal hands. It’s also very important to choose passwords that will be difficult to guess or hack.

5) Online banking is another great modern convenience. But as online banking has grown, so have fraudulent websites and internet hacking. Always make sure that your online banking institution is legitimate and insured. The FDIC website has more information on safe online banking.

To sum up, the best protection from internet crime comes from limiting the amount of personal information made available online. High-tech criminals can use anything from uploaded photos to an instant message with a friend to learn about their victim. Like many other innovations, our need for these technologies has flourished. Using these conveniences is perfectly fine so long as we take the right precautions to limit our risk.

Tweet

Google This

by Robin Sax

As we here at WOMEN IN CRIME know, it’s not just the facts, ma’am. It’s about where to find the facts and sometimes where to find the fiction. Many of us are looking for specific information but get sidetracked by useless websites with shoddy information.

Gone are the days of going to the library, standing on a stepstool, flipping through the card catalog, and being limited to how many books you could check out based on how big your biceps were. Now, with a few simple key strokes, anybody who wants to know anything is just a few clicks away. If you don’t believe me, Just ask Jeeves.com.

We live in a brave new world of research. The World Wide Web has changed the landscape for information-gathering for everyone, from writers to lawyers to criminals.

“Googling” is now a verb. Need to know about a particular person? Google him. Need to know about an issue? Google it.Looking for an old friend? Try Myspace, Facebook, Reunion, or Classmates. Need a professional or just want to network? How about Linkedin? Want to stay connected to friends, keep track of birthdays and special events? Try Plaxo, Birthdayreminder, and don’t forget Naymz!

The Internet can augment almost anyone’s library resources by providing alternate copies of print materials, as well as information that can’t be found in print or electronic formats.

Here are some examples of the resources that are on the Internet that may be difficult to find in a library: census information, uniform and model acts; news; publishers' catalogs; worldwide library catalogs; tables of contents of journals; full texts of articles from electronic law and non-law journals; books (such as the classics); bookstores (Barrister Books [academic textbooks], Amazon, etc.); song lyrics; comic strips; tax forms; sports information (such as professional baseball and basketball players' salaries and other basketball information); travel information; legal documents (transcripts of hearings, reports, briefs, memoranda, complaints, indictments, oral arguments, etc.).

As the Internet expands and people get more creative, they need to find new ways to find information. I have outlined some of the new(er) and different places to find information online. If you haven’t seen or heard of any of these sites, you are depriving your clients, your victims, your society, your readers, and yourself of a whole new dimension of the great galaxy known as the World Wide Web.

And now for some research tidbits:

CIA: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html -- How could a crime writer ignore this site? No crime website is complete unless it has a link to the Central Intelligence Agency. We use its 2008 CIA World Factbook (updated frequently) as a source of information about the countries of the world. See also "Maps" below.

Copyscape: http://www.copyscape.com -- "Copyscape makes it easy to find copies of your content on the Web. Simply type in the address of your web page. Copyscape will find sites that have copied your content without permission, as well as those that have quoted you." Copyscape is a free service; premium services are also available.

Dogpile: http://www.dogpile.com -- "Dogpile puts the power of all the leading search engines--Google, Yahoo, MSN Live Search, and Ask.com--together in one search box to deliver the best combined results. The process is more efficient and yields specific results. Dogpile was named top consumer search engine by J.D. Power & Associates for 2007."

Fazzle: http://www.fazzle.com – Similar to Google, perhaps an up-and-comer.

Newspapers: http://www.newspapers.com -- Answers everybody’s question: "What in the world is going on?" You can literally search thousands of newspapers online, including the abroad.

Ice Rocket: http://www.icerocket.com/ - Want to search myspace, facebook, and all socializing websites at once? This site takes people and profile searching to a whole new level.

Justice Interrupted: http://www.justiceinterrupted.blogspot.com -- Your one-stop shop for victims' advocacy presented with the honest breath of fresh air. Stacy, Susan, and Robin host a weekly radio show, advocate for victims, educate the community, and help in the investigation of crime.

Perez Hilton: http://www.perezhilton. com - Advertised as “Hollywood's Most-Hated Web Site,” it’s a place to get to get scoop, gossip, and rumors. No need to buy the National Enquirer here.

Radio locator: http://www.radio-locator.com/ -- "the most comprehensive radio station search engine on the internet. We have links to over 10,000 radio station web pages and over 2,500 audio streams from radio stations in the U.S. and around the world."

Rotten Tomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/ -- Need to know what’s shakin’ in THE “industry?” Though one of the busiest homepages in the biz, it's not as negative as it sounds.

Scared Monkeys: http://www.scaredmonkeys.com/ -- No spin, no b.s., just good people reporting on the most interesting and intriguing news.

Search Engine Watch: www.searchenginewatch.com -- Search Engine Watch covers it all: news, headlines, reviews, tools, blogs, forums, listings, ratings, stats, resources, newsletters, reports.

Snopes: http://www.snopes.com — “Send this email to ten people and Bill Gates will give you a brand new computer”; “Your car will blow up if you’re pumping gas while on a cell phone”; etc. We all get these emails everyday, but are they true or just fear-making? Only Snopes has the answers to these questions and other urban legends.

TMZ: http://www.tmz.com -- I give you permission to visit this site in the name of doing “research,” but we all know the real reason is to see if Angelina is pregnant or if Britney and Kevin are getting back together.

Wikipedia: http://www.wikipedia.com -- In their words, this is “the biggest multilingual free-content encyclopedia on the Internet. Over 7 million articles in over 200 languages, and still growing.”

Zillow: http://www.zillow.com -- Are you buying, selling, or simply snooping for house values? The market is changing and zillow keeps you in the know.

The sites I’ve mentioned are by no means flawless, but they are interesting, often informative places to find information and new ideas. Regardless of what you find, you must always evaluate the information. Some of the questions you should ask in assessing the site’s credibility and integrity are:

1) What is the source of the information?

Is the author known? On what authority does the author write -- what are his or her credentials? Who sponsors the website?

2) Is there author bias?

What is the intent or purpose of the website ? Is the motivation of the website profit? accurate news? propaganda? scholarly information? Does the material appear biased in any way, or is it fairly objective?

3) How reliable does the information appear to be within the website?

How does the material compare to related sources, such as published books or journal articles?

4) How up-to-date or time-sensitive is the information?

How current does the information appear to be? How often is the website updated?

5) What type of reviewing process exists on or about the site?

Are there professional reviews available for the website?

It’s no wonder that people turn to the Internet as a source of information. And why not? It’s a cheap alternative to the use of commercial databases. It is varied and plentiful, not to mention a lot quicker than a trip to the library, unless your research turns into a shopping jaunt.

Speaking of shopping, if you’re like me and thrive on new finds, great contacts, and amazing resources, visit http://robinsax.com/saxfactsweekly.html for Robin’s latest discovery. In the legal realm, “discovery” is part of the pre-trial litigation process when each side requests relevant information and documents from the other to "discover" pertinent facts.

I have made discovery my hobby. Whether you need to know how to scout for a nanny, where to buy the best holiday gifts, when there is a great sale, how to locate an affordable web designer, or find someone who can notarize your trust at three in the morning, I am your source.

Tweet

MySpace Millenium

by Stacy Dittrich

There is a monster lurking in your computer. Actually, there's no telling how many monsters are hiding behind that screeen, since MySpace, the social networking conglomerate, boasts close to a half billion members. Clearly, I'm a hypocrite of the highest levels since I happen to be included in the above number. However, I'm an author and use the forum for networking and advertising my books. But I'm also a police officer. The requests to become my "sex slave" and "whipping boy" (yes, those were sent) were deleted. More importantly, I'm thirty-five years old and can handle it. I'm not ten.

Granted, while working my "day job," I am continuously shaking my head in confusion and bewilderment at the lack of common sense I see in people. Case in point: A woman called me to report a sixty-year old sexual predator was sending her daughter explicit e-mails. Okay--tell me more. "He lives in Texas and was sending them to her MySpace page." How old is your daughter? "She's ten."

Huh?

My response: "A ten-year old on MySpace is like throwing meat at a pack of hungry wolves . . . shut her page down!" I failed to add the word "moron" to the former, but admittedly was thinking it. I have a twelve-year old daughter who is absolutely forbidden from the Web site. Period. Unfortunately, having Mom and Dad as police officers, she tends to be a little more "restricted" than most. The word "MySpace" is written on our police reports at least once a week. Fights, stalking, assaults, telephone harassment, and sex crimes have been committed in the space of the cyber-hangout.

It gets worse when parents become involved. I've witnessed parents sending messages to their son's ex-girlfriends, referring to them as whores, sluts, and the like. I've seen them threaten children as young as twelve. Which brings me to the Megan Meier case. She was the thirteen-year old who committed suicide after a six-week MySpace relationship with a guy who was "enamored" of her. Turns out, the boy was the mother of an ex-friend of Megan's who gave her a "Ha! Joke's on you!" message, prior to her suicide. She was never charged with a crime. Megan's mother (pictured right with photos of Megan) gave the following statement regarding her daughter's torment: "When adults are involved and continue to screw with a 13-year- old, with or without mental problems, it is absolutely vile."

She certainly had a lot more restraint than I would have.

It's not only MySpace anymore. Knock-off social networking sites are producing the same results. The British fave, Bebo, has allowed numerous teenagers to post their own memorials with seventeen of them committing suicide within the past year. Now, the videogame industry is jumping on-board. With interactive games like Halo that make it extremely difficult to track members, sexual predators are all over it. One juvenile who engaged in a sexual relationship with a twenty-seven year old that she had met on the game committed suicide. It's unrealistic to believe that her tragedy will be an isolated incident. . . .

Federal task forces are already enacted for the social-networkers. But, these are the same members of law enforcement who are grappling with identity theft, fraud, etc. They are overwhelmed and can't possibly monitor every social network. Mainly, it's up to parents to watch the computer activity of their children and teenagers. (One of our contributors has been on the front line of keeping MySpace from becoming TheirSpace.) Yes, in your children's eyes you may be the "bad" guy but . . . your vigilance may end up saving their lives.

Stay Safe!

Tweet