Crime and Punishment

I found this module fascinating just from the sheer amount of information I learned from it. It made me scared to go onto the Internet, especially my e-mail accounts! As I reread parts of this module I came to realize that, instead of being scared, I should consider myself fortunate to have learned this information.

First of all, I didn't realize that spam is illegal. So, the question that needs to be asked is: why do all of us get tons of spam each day? My junk mail has large amounts of e-mail dumped into it each day. I don't pay much attention to this junk mail folder so it really  doesn't have much potential to affect me. But every once in a while something catches my eye. I have resisted the temptation to click on the e-mail to open it and now, after reading this chapter, I am glad I did.  I have armed myself with new weapons to reduce the amount of spam that shows up in my  in-box and report that which I find particularly annoying, offensive, or scary.

Scams seem almost ridiculous in today's world but I imagine there's lots of people out there who fall for them. The Work-From-Home scam preys on those individuals out there who are looking for a break. Whether they are disabled or need extra cash, these scams are directed at them. The Mystery Shopper scams can be an easy way for the criminals to steal money from unsuspecting victims. I say can because there are legitimate Mystery Shopper organizations out there and they do provide a service for many businesses. That is exactly what makes it hard to determine what is phony and what is real.



I thought the Nigerian Letter scam was truly unbelievable even after reading about it both in our book and on-line. The ability to send out these poorly constructed letters, filled with grammatical and spelling errors, and still get people to respond to them is really sad. Especially when I read about how some victims responded after realizing they had been tricked into parting with substantial amounts of  their money. It is good that there have been arrests due to these scams. However, I think these arrests are just scratching the surface. The saying that applies here is "If you make a better mousetrap, the mice tend to get smarter." I think that this will just make these criminals invent new ways to steal money from victims.

I thought the section on pharming and phishing was particularly chilling. It seems that, eventually, no one will be able to avoid being a victim of these crimes. Of these two crimes I think pharming is the one that has the potential to cause more harm. Pharming is a crime that occurs when the criminal tampers with the domain name server of a business. Traffic to the website is secretly diverted to a different website. This other website looks exactly like the legitimate one and the victim thinks they are on the correct website because the browser is displaying the correct web site but, really, it's a fraudulent site. How scary is that!?!? I've often teased my husband because he likes to do our banking the old fashioned way. Well, I might have to rethink my beliefs. At least that paper check he writes out will make it to the business he sends it to and NOT a business that just looks like it. The same holds true for any banking that he does.
I thought this diagram did a good job outlining the steps that take place when a pharming scam occurs:

Phishing occurs when bulk e-mail is sent out that tries to get the potential victim to click on a link to a legitimate looking, but fake, website. The fake website then tries to get the person to give up their personal information and account passwords. The theme to these websites is that a person's account has been corrupted or is about to be closed and the business needs their information to restore the person's account to it's prior status. In thinking about both of these schemes, it seems that phishing would be more easily avoidable as long as a person knows what to look for and follows some basic rules.
I found this great article that describes phishing and pharming and the opinions of one person whose job it is to protect people from these threats on a daily basis. The link to it is :http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/First-Was-Phishing-Next-Is-Pharming/ 
I recommend reading it .

I really enjoyed finding this video on YouTube.  It's from the fine folks at Symantec and gives a funny, but informative, lesson on the scary things we can encounter on the world wide web:




So, you would think that after learning about all these schemes and scams I would be immune to anyone messing with me online. Well, the truth of the matter is that I had a phishing scam arrive in my junk in-box just last week. The scam was from someone posing as a PayPal account manager. The e-mail title said that my PayPal account had been compromised. Had I not become educated in these schemes I might have fallen for the scam. After all, it did look legitimate and how could I not respond to such a convincing title?

This message appeared above all the junk e-mail messages. It alerts readers to look for the "trusted sender" icon. Well, nothing in my junk box has a trusted sender icon....otherwise it wouldn't be junk! A legitimate message would look like this:

paypal.com which alerted me to the fact that this was a phishing scheme. I selected "Mark as Spam" and sent it on it's way to be investigated.

I consider myself, and my family, fortunate in that we haven't been victimized on-line. It seems like the number of victims is continuing to grow despite efforts from organizations  like the IC3, the FBI ,and SpamCop. It also seems like the number of criminals caught and brought to justice is tiny in comparison to the total number out there. It will take education and vigilance on the part of everyone who uses the Internet to keep themselves from becoming victims of this growing type of crime. I know that, since reading the information in this module, I'm better prepared to protect myself when I go on the Internet.

Keeping it Private on the Wild, Wild Web

This learning module was a real eye opener for me as far as how easy it is to fall victim to cyberstalking and identity theft.




Cyberstalking. After reading the chapter on cyberstalking I can't say that I've come away from it armed with any way to protect myself, or my family, if someone decided to target us. However, I have learned about some of the technology that is used to cyberstalk so, in that regard, I feel that I could recognize what was happening to make it stop sooner.

It seems like cars are a big tool for cyberstalkers. It is fairly simple to wire a car with a GPS system or cell phone in order to be able to follow a person and listen in on their conversations. I can't imagine how unnerving it would be to know you are being followed and not know how it is being accomplished.

I found snoop-sticks fascinating. These devices have the ability to cause havoc in a person's life by their ability to see everything a person is doing on their computer. Your passwords and account numbers are not safe. Every e-mail can be read. All websites that you visit can be seen by your unknown perpetrator. The fact that they were created as a parental control tool is lost upon realizing the true potential of this device.

The statistics on cyberstalking were fairly sobering also. It seems like the stalkers are quite diligent in pursuing their victims. The fact that 66% of victims are stalked at least once each week and that 78% of stalkers find they need to use more than one approach to truly terrorize their victim is startling. (The credit for these statistics came from "Cyber Crime Fighters - Tales from the Trenches" by Felicia Donovon and Kristyn Berner.)





Identity Assumption and Identity Theft. This section of our learning module really had an impact on me. I feel that any intrusion into someone's identity is unacceptable and should be dealt with quickly and harshly. The ramifications to someone's life range from bothersome to overwhelming and life altering.

The fact that the World Wide Web isn't well regulated allows for individuals with a vendetta against someone to swoop in and assume their identity. A smear campaign is easy to launch since web sites are fairly easy to set up. One aspect that I had never considered is the effect of identity assumption on educators. Teachers can have their reputations tarnished all due to an angry student. Teens can also assume the identity of another teen in order to get revenge against them or bully them. The repercussions of a teen doing this to another teen can cause huge amounts of stress in the victim's life. It is hard to prove that those postings or web sites really weren't your creation and, in fact, are completely against the values you hold dear.

The biggest eye opener for me dealt with identity theft. It seems like it would be fairly easy for someone to steal your identity if you aren't careful. Equally unnerving was the fact that the victims are often guilty until proven innocent. The amount of time and money that go into recovering your identity can ruin people if the theft of your identity didn't already. I found this great article on personal record keeping to help prevent identity theft. Included in this article are retention guidelines for records like tax returns, bank statements ATM receipts, and utility bills....just to name a few. The link to this article is:   http://www.shrednations.com/articles/personal-records-retention.php
I highly recommend reading it. It explained the proper length of time to keep these records along with some suggestions for disposal.

When I read about children under the age of 18 being targets for identity theft my thoughts immediately turned towards my daughter. When she was 15, and starting her first part-time job, she received a notice from a bank about a credit card she was attempting to open. She had no idea where this bank obtained this information. I called the bank and, after explaining that she was only 15 and not interested in a credit card, they promptly closed the application and placed a notice on any future attempts to establish credit in her name. Now I realize she was a potential victim and the perpetrator probably worked with her.

One of the changes I made in my life after reading everything associated in this learning module was to invest in a paper shredder. My husband and I have always ripped up any unwanted, but sensitive, mail that is delivered to our house. After reading about identity theft I decided it was time to protect ourselves more fully. Our shredder is now conveniently located next to the paper bag for old newspapers. Our motto is "Shred, Shred, Shred"!




Another change in my life brought about by this learning module was checking my credit report. Now it may be naive of me, but I never had looked at my credit report before this. At least not as a conscious effort apart from refinancing a mortgage or refinancing a home equity loan.  It was interesting to review and, although I knew my credit score was excellent, it still felt good to see it in print. Now I have established a schedule for checking my credit report about every 4 months. I found the following YouTube video interesting. It discusses the biggest reasons you should check your credit report once a year. Checking for errors in your personal information, looking for identity theft, finding areas that will help you repair your credit, credit inquiries made against your credit report, and the fact that it costs nothing to check your credit report are the topics covered in this video.




I think you'll agree it was worth viewing. I never realized how many ways your credit score can affect your daily life.

In conclusion, the Wild, Wild Web can be a scary, dangerous place. I know I learned some valuable tips to keep myself and my family safe the next time we venture onto it.  I hope to make others aware of the dangers they may encounter and how to keep themselves and their personal data safe also.