Written by leading cyber crime investigators, Cyber Crime Fighters: Tales from the Trenches takes you behind the scenes to reveal the truth behind Internet crime, telling shocking stories that aren’t covered by the media, and showing you exactly how to protect yourself and your children. This is the Internet crime wave as it really looks to law enforcement insiders: the truth about crime on social networks and YouTube, cyber stalking and criminal cyber bullying, online child predators, identity theft, even the latest cell phone crimes. Here are actual cases and actual criminals, presented by investigators who have been recognized by the FBI and the N.H. Department of Justice. These stories are true—and if you want to stay safe, you need to know about them.

 

     •    Learn how today’s criminals can track your whereabouts, read your emails, and steal your identity

     •    Find out how much of your personal information is already online—and how to keep the rest private

     •    Learn how cyber stalkers really think—and how to protect yourself  from them

     •    Protect your laptop, your iPod, and your precious data from getting stolen

     •    Encounter the “dark side” of Internet dating

     •    Discover the hidden crime wave on today’s specialized social networks

     •    Uncover the cell phone “upskirters” and “downblousers” —and the technicalities that keep them out of jail

     •    Follow cyber crime specialists as they investigate and catch online sexual predators

     •    Get the real truth about phishing, pharming, criminal spam, and online scams

     •    See how investigations really work—and why TV crime shows often get it wrong!

     •    Walk through your own personal, step-by-step, online safety checkup

About the Author

Felicia Donovan is a recognized law enforcement technology and cyber crime expert who spent ten years at a New England police department and received recognition from the FBI on her work related to cases. The author of the popular The Black Widow Agency series, she has been featured in Law Enforcement Technology magazine.

 

Kristyn Bernier, a detective and 15-year veteran of a New England-based police department, currently specializes in undercover work fighting Internet crimes. As an investigator with the Northern New England Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, she has been honored by the N.H. Department of Justice.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Cyber Stalking 1 High-Tech Stalkers 2 "How I Stalked My Girlfriend" 4 The Victim's Side 8 Identity Assumption 9 The Wild, Wild Web 10 Sticks and Stones 13 The "Stalker" E-Card 14 Cyber Stalking and the Law 16 Cyber Stalking Facts 17 Lethality Assessment Tools 18 If You Think You Are Being Cyber Stalked 19 Teen/Tech Stalking 21 Teen Study 21 Online Games--The New Stalker's Ground 22 Online Gaming and Malware 23 Would You Say It to My Face? 23 National School Board Survey 23 Women as Perpetrators 26 Cyber Stalking Prevention Resources 26 Chapter 2 Two Bedrooms Up, One Bedroom Down--What Someone Can Find Out About You on the Internet 27 Your Digital Footprint 28 The Best Sources to Find Out About People 28 "Tracking Teresa" 29 Town and City Websites 29 Zillow--We Know Your Neighborhood 31 We Know Your Dog's Name 31 Online Memorials 32 Political Contributions 32 People Search Sites 33 Search Your Own Name 33 The Wayback Machine 34 Website Registration Records 34 E-Venge 35 DontDateHimGirl.com 36 Lessons Learned 36 Chapter 3 Cyber Crime Tools You Won't Believe 37 Wi-Fi Tracking 37 Packet Sniffers 37 Bluetooth Locating 38 What Is an IP Address 38 Anonymizers and Anonymous Remailers 40 Fake Name Generators 42 Fake Caller ID 42 Chapter 4 Upskirting, Downblousing, and Your Right to Privacy in the Cell Phone and Digital Age 47 Upskirting and Downblousing 47 We Fight for Changes in the Law 50 Stickam: Voyeurism or Exhibitionism 51 New Challenges to Voyeurism Law 51 How Prevalent Is Voyeurism? 53 How to Prevent Becoming a Victim of Voyeurism 54 Is a Stranger Watching Your Nanny Cam? 54 The Voyeur's Backpack 55 Resources 55 Chapter 5 Identity Theft 57 Identity Theft: The Number-One Type of Fraud 57 23,000 Victims Per Day: One Every 3.5 Seconds 58 Cheap Credit Cards 58 Identity Theft Versus Identity Fraud 59 The Long Road to Recovery 60 The NCIC Identity Theft File 60 Guilty Until Proven Innocent 61 Types of Identity Theft 61 Delays in Notification 62 Preventing Identity Theft 63 Monitor Your Accounts 63 Get Your Free Annual Credit Report (annualcreditreport.com) 63 Credit Report Tips 64 Felicia Finds "Rogue" Account 65 Monitor Your Child's Credit Report 66 Tips to Prevent Your Child's Identity from Being Stolen 66 More Identity-Theft Prevention Tips 67 Shred, Shred, Shred 69 Fraudulent Donations 70 If You Are a Victim of Identity Theft 70 Identity Theft Services 72 LifeLock Gets Sued 72 Attorney General Becomes ID Theft Victim 73 Resources 73 Chapter 6 Online Dating--Are You Safe? 75 Can Online Dating Be Made Safer? 77 Criminal History Checks--What Can You Really Find Out? 77 Online Dating Dilemmas 79 Victim Reluctance to Report 82 Lack of Evidence and Empathy 85 Online Dating Safety Tips 87 Chapter 7 We Catch Sexual Predators--What You Don't See on TV 89 The Dateline Debacle: To Catch a Predator 89 Perverted Justice and To Catch a Predator in Action 90 Problems with To Catch a Predator 91 Does To Catch a Predator Hinder Law Enforcement? 91 The Good and the Bad 92 Misdemeanor Versus Felony 101 Laws Vary from State to State 102 Lessons Learned 102 Free Babysitting 105 The Internet--A Pedophile's New Playground 105 12 Million Hits in 72 Hours 106 Male Versus Female Offenders 107 The Cyber Playground 109 Chapter 8 Child Sexual Assault Images--The New View on Child Pornography 111 Fritz Does Federal--Enticement Across State Lines 113 Child Pornography Collectors 113 Sex Offender Websites: Facts Versus Fiction 117 The National Sex Offender Public Registry 122 U.S. Supreme Court Rules CG Kiddie Porn Is Perfectly Legal 124 Digital Images 126 Congress Reacts 126 The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children 126 Child Victim Identification Program (CVIP) 127 Operation Avalanche 129 Landslide Productions 129 How Far Does "Private Fantasy" Go? The Zidel Case 130 Recent Developments 131 Supreme Court Overturns Ruling 132 Laws and Loopholes 134 Laptops and Customs Searches 135 Laptop Search by Customs Is Challenged 135 Sex Offender Caught at Border 135 A Balancing Act 136 SAFE Act 136 Social Networks and Sex Offenders 137 Facebook and MySpace Get Tougher on Sex Offenders? 137 KIDS Bill 138 Child Porn Sites Shut Down? 138 ICAC: The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force 140 The Child Advocacy Center: A Victim-Centered Approach 143 Missouri: 30 Days, 7,000 Computers Trading Kiddie Porn 145 NCMEC Survey 145 Internet Safety Guidelines 146 Resources 146 Chapter 9 Social Networks/Social Nightmares 147 Online Societies 147 More and More Specialized Social Networks 148 They Call It Love, We Call It Pedophilia 149 Suicide "Assistance" Sites--alt.suicide.holiday (ASH) 150 Never Say, "My Child Will Never!" 152 Common Interest Guaranteed 157 Words Can Never Hurt Me? 158 Internet Safety Guidelines 158 Chapter 10 Sexual Deviance Online (Child Sex Rings, Prostitution, Sexual Victimization, and Other Bizarre Stories) 161 The Darker Side of the Online Sex Trade 162 The Emperor's Club 164 The Innocence Lost Initiative 165 Mayor Blames Craigslist for Child Prostitution 166 A Nationwide Epidemic--293,000 Children at Risk 168 Internet Sex and Robbery: "Operation FALCON" 169 Child Sex Rings: The Darkest Side of the Internet 170 The AMBER Alert 172 How You Can Help--Please Join In 174 Cellular Porn: The Uglier Side of Cell Phones 175 The Danger of Webcams 178 Chapter 11 Phishing, Pharming, Spam, and Scams 179 Phishing 179 Call to Action--Danger, Danger 180 Hyperlinks--Hyper Dangerous! 181 New Twists on Phishing 182 Charity Phishing Scams 182 How Do Phishers Make Money? 183 Vishing--Cell Phone Phishing 183 Recent Trends--Vishing Over Phishing 184 IC3 Name Used in Fraudulent Phishing Scam 185 Pharming--Fake Websites 185 Spam, Spam, Spam 187 Where Did Spam Come From? 187 Who Profits from Spam? 188 Why Spam Is Dangerous 188 Spam Vigilantes 190 Spam Spiders 190 How to Reduce Spam 190 New Twist--Death Threats via Spam 191 Is Spam Illegal? 191 The CAN-SPAM Act 191 New Twist--Text Spam on Your Cell Phone 192 $234 Million Spam Judgment 192 Report Spam to spam@uce.gov 193 Yahoo! Sues Unknown Spammers in Lottery Scheme 193 Resources 194 The Nigerian Letter Advance Fee or "419" Scam 194 Recent Arrests 195 The "Lottery" Version 195 How Can They Profit? 196 Sample Nigerian Letter 197 Where to Report a Nigerian (419) Advance Fee Letter 198 The Cyber Crime Melting Pot 198 Data Breaches--When Your Data Is Stolen 198 Verizon Report: 87% of Breaches Were Avoidable 203 Data Breach Laws 204 Are Data Breach Laws Ineffective? 205 Privacy Rights Clearinghouse 205 Online Auction Fraud 206 Escrow Services 206 Pay by Credit Card 206 Learn As Much As You Can About the Seller 207 Secure Versus Nonsecure Transactions 207 If It Sounds Too Good to Be True, It Is 208 Resources 208 Work-at-Home Scams 209 How to Spot a Scam 209 Mystery Shopper Scams 210 Use Common Sense 211 Money Mules 211 The Power of Google--Turn the Tables 211 Social Engineering Scams 212 400 People Click to Get a Computer Virus 213 Women Versus Men--Who Gets Scammed More? 213 The Easiest Way Not to Get Scammed 213 Chapter 12 Peer-to-Peer Network Dangers 215 P2P Networks 216 P2P and Music Piracy 216 Actual Cases 216 The RIAA Investigation 217 University Cooperation? 217 Challenges to the Lawsuit 218 How P2P Works 218 P2P Dangers 218 What the Experts Say 218 Supreme Court Justice's Data Breached 219 Chapter 13 Crimes on Camera 221 Caught in a Trap 224 Ten Hours of Video Uploaded Every Minute 225 Using a Digital Camera or Cell Phone to Determine Coordinates 229 What You Put Out There, Stays Out There 229 Chapter 14 Computers and Drugs 231 Techie Dealers 231 Rave Parties 232 Dust Masks and Glo-Sticks 232 A Different Dose Each Time 233 Rave Parties and the World Wide Web 234 Online Recipes 235 How Many Colds Can One Man Have? 235 The Exploding Kitchen 236 Scam Cannabis--One-Stop Marijuana Shopping 236 Steroids 237 Drug Dealers Love Technology, Too 238 Tools of the Drug Dealers 238 Who's a Rat? 239 Chapter 15 Who Is Tracking Your Online Activities? 241 You've Been Profiled--Data Aggregators 241 Cookies--Not the Sugar Kind 242 What Kind of Information Do Cookies Track? 243 Preventing Cookies 243 Our Take on Cookies 243 What's a EULA? 244 Even Hackers Have EULAs 245 You Need to Know About Bots and Botnets 245 Commtouch Report: 10 Million Infected Computers 246 Operation Bot Roast 247 How They Did It 247 Trends in Botnet Operations 248 Is Your Computer Part of a Botnet? 248 Symptoms of a Bot 248 If You Think Your Computer Is Part of a Botnet 249 The "Gift" That Keeps on Giving 249 Chapter 16 Your Online Safety Checkup 251 Keep Your System Updated 251 Install Virus Protection 252 Install Spyware and Malware Detection Programs 253 Malware City 253 StopBadware Report 253 Passwords 253 Creating Strong Passwords 254 Multiple Accounts, Multiple Passwords? 255 Password Management Tools 255 Hacking--The New High School Curriculum 256 Would You Leave Your Door Unlocked? Unsecured Wi-Fi 256 Piggybacking 257 Wardriving 258 Wi-Fi and "Evil Twin" Spoofing 259 How to Secure Your Home Wi-Fi Connection 259 Protecting Your Cell Phone 261 Cell Phone Safety Tips 262 Getting Rid of That Old Computer 262 Deleted Files Are Not Deleted! 262 Would You Hand Over Your Checkbook? 263 Secure Wipe Versus Reformat 263 Assume Whatever You Did on the Computer Is Still There 264 Electronic Depots 264 How to Recover Your Stolen Laptop 265 Stolen Laptop Locator Services 265 Lock Your Car, Please! 266 Chapter 17 How We Would Combat Cyber Crime 267 The Victim's Perspective 268 The Anonymity of the Internet 268 Crimes Are Often Multijurisdictional 268 How We Would Fight Cyber Crime 269 Recognize That Cyber Crime Is a Business! 269 Develop Greater Cooperation with Financial Institutions 270 Change Law Enforcement's Paradigm of Cyber Crime 270 Create a Single Reporting Site for Cyber Crime 271 Collect Better Statistics 271 Parents Need to Take Control 273 Develop Partnerships and Share Information 274 Cops on the Cyber Beat 275 "Virtual" Policing and Cyber Patrols 275 The "New" Community 276 Offer More Education Programs for Parents 276 Eliminate Territorial Boundaries 277 Use Police Civilians as Experts 277 Adopt Tougher and More Consistent Cyber Crime Laws 278 Standardize Forms 279 Provide More Training on Cyber Crime to Law Enforcement 279 Understand the Changing Nature of Cyber Crime 280 Cyber Crime and Cyber Terrorism 280 Appendix A Toys They Don't Want You to Know About 283 Thumb Drives You Won't Believe 285 Appendix B CSI Versus Reality 287 List of Cases GPS for the Ex-Spouse 3 Computer Key Stroke Stalking 5 A Tale of Technological Terror 6 Cops Use GPS, Too 9 An Easy Way to Tarnish a Reputation 10 The Dean Isenberg Case 11 The Amy Boyer Story 12 Teachers--The New Cyber Stalker's Target 24 Teachers Fight Back: The Erik Trosch Story 24 The Anna Draker Case 26 Felicia Gets Caught Up in a Homicide Investigation 43 Smile for the Hidden Camera 48 The Susan Wilson Story 48 Location, Location, Location 49 Ohio 2008 Voyeurism Case--30 Days in Jail 49 The Florentino Avila Case: Our Firsthand Experience 50 The Brian Presken Case 52 Illegal Use of Legal Name Change 59 The Alicia M. Case 66 The Jeffrey Marsalis Case 76 Jeanette's Story 81 Genevieve's Story 83 Date Rape Drugs 85 The Nurse's Revenge 86 NBC Settles Suicide Lawsuit 91 Our Version of To Catch a Predator 93 The Teacher and His "Student" 103 The Jerry Jones Case--A Triple Threat 106 The Jacob Silva Case 111 The Pumpkin Man 114 The Predator's Family Heirloom 116 The New Hygiene 116 The Lingerie Connection 117 The Douglas Simmons Case 121 Cop Gets 14 Years for Distributing Kiddie Porn: The John Schenberger Case 123 Priest Gets 4 Years 124 Can You Keep Your Password Private? The Sebastian Boucher Case 133 The "Tara" Series: A Horrific, Yet Bittersweet Success Story 140 Online Suicide Pacts 150 Online Suicides 151 More Online Suicides 151 The Megan Meier Story 152 Make a Difference for Kids: The Rachel Neblett Story 154 Online Murder Plots 154 The Art of Murder: The Taylor Behl Story 155 Blogging About Cannibalism 157 supalover666 165 The Justin Berry Story 167 Brooke Bennett Goes Missing 170 An AMBER Alert with a Happier Ending 173 Another AMBER Alert Success Story 173 The Elizabeth Smart Story 174 A Shocking Story of a Victim, But No Crime 176 Swinging Sex Parties in a Quaint New England Town 177 Man Charged with Child Porn Was Spam Victim 189 The TJ Maxx Data Breach--Largest in History 199 The Hannaford Brothers Data Breach 202 Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Breach 203 Sharing Kiddie Porn 219 The Florida Teen Beating 222 The Beating of an Art Teacher 224

Author Biography

Felicia Donovan (NH) is a law enforcement technology and cybercrime expert who has spent ten years as information systems manager at a New England police department. Kristyn Bernier (NH), a detective and 15-year veteran of a New England-based police department, currently specializes in undercover work in fighting Internet crimes.