Police Department
Crime Prevention - Internet Crimes
The internet places a vast amount of information and exciting
experiences at your command. With the click of a mouse,
the internet allows you to buy an airline ticket, book a hotel,
send flowers to a friend, or purchase your favorite stock.
However, as the legitimate use of the internet increases
throughout our nation and the world, the wrongful use of the
internet to commit crime and victimize people also increases.
The following internet crime prevention information is meant to
help you protect yourself, your loved ones, your friends, your
neighbors and your community, and to make your journey on the
internet as safe, secure and crime free as possible.
Threats you may encounter include child
exploitation, fraud,
unsolicited commercial e-mail, teaser
pages, high pressure sales,
risk free scams, pump and
dump, hijack,
pyramid schemes, gambling and
online auctions.
Child Exploitation
Children can be sexually exploited, kidnapped, molested and
solicited by individuals using online services. One reason
is the anonymous nature of the internet. Another reason is
the large number of people using the internet. Pedophiles
contact children on the internet through e-mail messages,
electronic bulletin boards and public chat rooms.
Pedophiles will make telephone contact with victims by having
children call collect so the pedophile's telephone number will
not show up on their parent's telephone bill. Pedophiles
will also purchase a prepaid telephone card and give children a
toll free access number enabling children to call from anywhere
they choose.
Pedophiles will often convince children to send them a
photograph. Pedophiles will offer children money for their
photographs and/or pose as professional photographers to obtain
nude, graphic or sexually explicit photographs of children.
Pedophiles commonly attempt to lower the inhibitions of children
through deception in an attempt to lead children into other
sexual conversations or acts. There are a number of ways
parents can protect their children from becoming victims of
pedophiles on the internet. The following are some
examples:
- Choose an online service that offers parental control
features;
- Purchase blocking software and design your own safety
system;
- Monitor children that are online and monitor the time
they spend online;
- Ensure children never reveal identifying information
about themselves on the internet in a public chat room, on
an electronic bulletin board or in their e-mail messages;
- Ensure children do not give out personal information
about themselves such as their age;
- Consider using a pseudonym or unlisting your child's
name;
- Get to know the services your child uses;
- Block out objectionable material through your internet
service provider;
- Never allow a child to arrange a face-to-face meeting
with another computer user without parental permission;
- Ensure children never respond to messages or bulletin
board items that are suggestive, obscene, belligerent or
threatening;
- Encourage children to tell you whenever they encounter
such messages;
- If you or your children receives a message that is
harassing, sexual in nature, or threatening, forward a copy
of the message to your service provider and ask for their
assistance;
- If you become aware of the transmission, use, or viewing
of child pornography while online, report it to the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children;
- Teach children that people online may not be who they
seem;
- Teach children online service providers never ask for
passwords and they should never give their password out;
- Teach children that everything they read or see on the
internet may not be true;
- Teach children to never let anyone pressure them into
doing something they feel uncomfortable doing;
- Teach children to never enter an area on the internet
that charges for services without asking permission from a
responsible adult first;
- Some children have access to the internet at school.
Check with the school authorities to ensure your children
are properly supervised and monitored by a responsible
adult;
- Know your children's friends and their parents.
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Fraud
Internet fraud takes many forms. The internet's promise of
substantial consumer benefits is coupled with the potential for
fraud and deception. Fraud operators are opportunists who
are among the first to appreciate the potential of a new
technology. There is nothing new about internet fraud,
however, the size and potential market, relative ease, low cost,
and speed with which a scam can be perpetrated has increased
tremendously.
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Unsolicited Commercial E-mail
Internet service providers report handling 60 million electronic
messages per day. Estimates of unsolicited commercial
e-mail (UCE) indicate it comprises as much as one-third of the
total e-mail traffic. This ever-increasing volume of UCE
strains the capacity of online service providers and threatens
the development of the internet as a conduit for commerce.
Beyond the sheer volume and potential annoyance of UCE, many UCE
messages may also be misleading or deceptive.
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Teaser Pages
The internet is rife with fraud and deception. Some web
pages "tease" individuals with promises of easy money for little
or nothing. These scams include phony scholarships, travel
programs, weight loss programs and others.
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High Pressure Sales
A high-pressure sales pitch may sound exciting, however, as a
rule, such a pitch should be resisted. Before you invest
any money, take your time. Get a second opinion from a
financial planner, an attorney, or an accountant you can trust.
Finally, research the company's reputation. Call your
local consumer protection agency in the city where the company
is headquartered for more information. Following are lines
frequently used by scam artists:
- "We don't make money unless you make money."
- "I know you get offers everyday from people who tell you
they're going to bake you rich. I can make it easy for
you to make your decision based on actual facts."
- "This opportunity is the best chance to make extra money
for guys who work for a living; guys like you and me."
- "I've been in this business for 20 years and I can tell
you this: I know of no other program that is legal, easy to
afford and can bring in this kind of big money from such a
small investment."
- "I know this can work for you and I personally guarantee
your success, right down to the last penny."
- "Give me one percent of your trust and I'll earn the
other 99 percent when you see the return."
- "Of course there is a risk, there is a risk in
everything."
- "Sure we could finance this venture ourselves, however,
we're trying to build a power base for the future for folks
like you."
- "We're talking about a cash cow here, it's going fast
and I need your check tomorrow at the latest."
- "I can't be lying, there are laws against lying."
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The Risk Free Scam
Many times this scam solicits its victims with exotic-sounding
investments such as wireless cable projects, prime bank
securities or fictitious business ventures overseas.
Promoters misrepresent risk to "investors" by comparing their
offer to something safe, such as bank security deposits.
Many times the investment offer never really exists.
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The Pump and Dump
This is a stock scam. Messages are posted on the internet
urging readers to buy stock quickly that is poised for rapid
growth. The message writer often claims to have inside
information about an impending development. The reality is
that the writer stands to gain by selling or buying stock shares
after the price goes up or down. This ploy is normally
used with unregistered, little known, thinly traded stocks.
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The Hijack
The hijack is a relatively new form of fraud unique to the
internet. Consumers are prompted to download a purported
"viewer program" to see computer images for free. Once
downloaded, the consumer's computer is "hijacked" by the
viewer program which turns off the consumer's modem speakers,
disconnects the computer from the local internet provider, dials
an international number and connects the consumer to a remote
site. The expensive international costs are charged to the
consumer's telephone bill until the telephone is turned off.
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Pyramid Schemes
Pyramid schemes are similar to multi-level marketing.
Pyramid schemes provide financial incentives to recruit new
distributors. They are generally prohibited because it is
a mathematical certainty that the pyramids will collapse when no
new distributors can be recruited. When that happens, most
people lose their money. The internet offers a fast lane
for pyramid builders by facilitating a large-scale recruitment
pool in little or no time. Be extremely cautious if a
promoter offers you an extremely large short-term return on any
investment, particularly if there is a disclaimer that the
investment is "high-risk and you could lose all of your money."
Additionally, if there are no written claims delineating
the returns on other's investments, you are quite possibly
looking at a pyramid scheme. Beware of all get rich quick
schemes. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably
is.
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Gambling
One of the greatest potential dangers for fraudulent loss posed
for people using the internet is gambling. There are as
many as 200 gambling sites on the internet. Consumers may
gamble on sports, Blackjack, Keno, Roulette, etc. Gambling
on the internet is especially risky because gambling is an
unregulated industry and currently, there is no effective way to
control it. Companies based in foreign countries using
foreign bank accounts are able to easily bilk consumers out of
their money. Many times internet "gamblers" are unable to
contact the companies with whom they placed their bets to
collect their winnings. Gambling on the internet exposes
consumers to fraud, civil liability and possible criminal
liability.
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Online Auctions
Online auctions are popular to many people who use the internet.
Generally, online auctions are person to person sales where
individuals bid for various types of merchandise. The
highest bidder then pays in advance of receiving the
merchandise. A growing problem is sellers failing to
deliver merchandise that consumers have purchased.
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