Busting Cyber Crime

How safe is the global village? It's getting safer every day! There's a new sheriff in town, and it's you!

Have you spotted any scams or spams lately? If you have, then you can consider yourself officially deputized. Join the posse, and let's clean up this web-town!

What kinds of crimes occur online?

Internet crime and scams may take a variety of forms: bomb threats, copyright infringement, counterfeiting, credit card theft, fake auctions, financial fraud, hacking, harassment, identity theft, insider trading, phishing attacks, password trafficking, piracy, pornography, viruses, security breaches, spammers, spyware, stealing trade secrets, theft of intellectual property, trademark violation, and more.

What can you do, if it happens to you?

If you have been victimized, or if you suspect a cyber-crime has been committed, you will need to report this to the proper authorities. Where do you begin?

First, if you have been threatened, and if you are concerned that the internet predator may know your real-life identity and location, then you must go directly to your local law enforcement authorities. Call 911, if the threat is urgent or you are in physical danger.

Be sure to retain all relevant e-mails, instant messages, file attachments and other materials that may prove to be relevant to the case. These will be valuable for tracing the perpetrators. Also, an official report demands the presence and signature of the actual victim or witness, not a third-party source.

Where can you file a complaint?

Every internet user has the ability and authority to report online crime.

Several federal agencies investigate cyber crime in the United States. Try to select the agency most relevant to the offense you have experienced or witnessed.

These include the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the US Secret Service, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), the US Postal Service (USPS), the US Department of Homeland Security, and the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF). All of these agencies have web-sites, and many have local or toll-free numbers listed in the Yellow Pages. This is an excellent place to start.

For issues affecting national security, call the Department of Homeland Security. Their National Infrastructure Coordinating Center handles internet-related issues. (202-282-9201).

For spam, e-mail violations, and password issues, the best point to begin is with your own internet service provider (America Online, Microsoft Network, Road Runner, etc.). Most of these offer simple means of flagging unwanted messages.

What's the simplest solution?

If you don't know where to turn, you can file a complaint with the Internet Crime Compliant Center (IC3) This organization represents a joint effort of the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C). This organization researches cyber-crime complaints and refers them to the appropriate local, state, national, or international authorities. Reports may be filed online.

Together, we can stem the tide of cyber crime. Holster up, and let's ride!