MS AGO: Families - Cyber Crime Terminology And Definitions | Protecting Mississippi by Preventing and Prosecuting Crime

The Federal Trade Commission and twenty-nine State Attorney General Offices have launched a law enforcement crackdown targeting Internet auction scams. Many of the cases involve straightforward scams that begin when the consumer is led to believe that they won the bid they placed through a particular Internet auction web site. The consumer will then send money to pay for the item on which they bid, never to be sent the actual item in question. This type of fraud may be especially difficult to prosecute particularly because the offender and the victim may be miles apart. Identity theft is another problem surrounding online auctions. The following are tips to avoiding Internet Auction fraud:

Examine any feedback that has been given on the seller.
Ask the seller when delivery can be expected; also ask whether there is a warranty or exchange policy in case the merchandise is faulty.
Avoid giving out driver's license numbers or social security numbers.
Find out what actions the web site/company takes if a problem occurs with the transaction.
Get a clear understanding of how the auction works and what the obligations of the buyer and seller are before bidding.
Print and save the description and/or photograph given of merchandise so that there is documentation of claims that were made concerning that product.

Remember, on-line auctions can be a fun way to find unique and special items, but it is important to be informed and careful when participating.

Blogging

A "blog" (short for "web log") is an on-line journal where people can publish entries about their personal experiences, ideas, and hobbies. While blogs can be an exciting outlet for creativity and self-expression, younger users should be made aware of the dangers associated with the use of popular teen blog sites such as Xanga.com. Pedophiles often frequent these sites posing as teens to start relationships with would-be victims. It is common for kids to post pictures of themselves, their full names, addresses, what school they attend, and what extracurricular activities they participate in after school on their blog sites. This seemingly harmless information makes it easy for a predator to locate a child. Parents should talk openly with their children about on-line predators in an effort to help reduce the number of children who are victimized.

Chat Rooms

A chat room is a virtual space that allows people to have real-time conversations across borders and time zones about a range of topics. Chat rooms can be a great way for children to gain exposure to many different kinds of people, but all too often children gain exposure to the wrong kinds of people. Cyberspace sexual abusers operate the same way on-line as pedophiles in real life; they "groom" the child and create a sense of trust and friendship allowing the child to let down their self-protective instincts. When the time is right, the predator seeks to arrange a one-on-one encounter. The following tips may help keep children out of harm's way:

Do surprise checks on your children while they are online.
Locate the computer in a common family space.
Discourage children from giving out any personal information (this includes e-mail addresses and passwords).
Inform children that they should never make arrangements to meet in person with someone they met online, nor should they exchange phone numbers with online "friends".
Children should avoid opening e-mails from addresses they do not recognize.

Malware

In general, malware is any kind of malicious software that affects your computer. More specific terms and definitions are listed below.

Virus - a virus is a program or piece of computer code that runs against the user's wishes and replicates itself in fashion similar to a biological virus. A virus must be contained within the code of another program and cannot run on its own.
Trojan - any program that appears to be one thing, usually desirable, but in reality functions in some other manner. Often is used in conjunction with spyware.
Spyware - software that is secretly installed on a user's computer that monitors the use of the computer without the user's knowledge or consent.
Adware - while not necessarily malware, adware is often linked with spyware and other malware. Adware is any software that displays advertisements while the program is running, usually in banner ads or pop-up windows.
Worm - a self-replicating program similar to a virus; however, a worm is completely self-contained and does not need to be attached to another program.

Peer to peer (P2P)

"Peer to peer" (also known as "P2P") refers to a type of technology that allows individual users to connect to each other directly without need for a central point of management. Bearshare and Kazaa are two popular file sharing programs that utilize a peer to peer network.

While peer to peer file sharing is not illegal in itself, it is often used to distribute files illegally, like copyrighted works such as movies and music. A good rule of thumb is if you aren't getting the work directly from the artist who created it (highly unlikely on file sharing networks) and you aren't paying a legitimate company for its use, then it is probably copyright infringement.

Pharming

"Pharming" is when someone makes a trusted website address lead to a completely different website from the one the user actually wants. The other website will appear to be the trusted one, but in reality, when the user gives it their information, it will simply collect it and allow the scammer to use the information for malicious purposes. Pharming is especially disturbing because the user may never realize they have had their information stolen.

Phishing

"Phishing" is an attack used by identity thieves. In this attack, an email is sent to you that appears to come from a legitimate company (i.e., Paypal, Ebay, etc.) telling you that your account with them is in danger of expiring or being closed if you don't update your information immediately.

They want you to update your information by clicking a link in the email that may appear to be going to the legitimate website, but actually leads you to a site owned by the scammer who then records the information you give them and uses it later to steal your identity. In case of these types of email, the best thing to do is to go to the website in question directly, not by using the link in the email and checking that way to see whether you need to update anything in your account. Also, many companies now have places where you can report these types of scams.

Spam

Spam is on-line unsolicited junk mail. The term can include anything from harmless chain letters, links to porn sites or other offensive content, or invitations to join "get rich quick" schemes. For all the different types of spam that exist, the term is most commonly used to refer to online advertisements; these are sent by mass e-mail usually to people who have inadvertently wound up on a spam e-mail list after signing up for on-line newsletters or even by choosing e-mail addresses that are easy enough for spam operators to guess.