In the late 1800’s, a young teenage boy from Eastern Europe stepped off a boat onto the wharf of the bustling port of a major East Coast American city. He didn’t speak the language as well as he wished he did. He was unfamiliar with the people, the city, and the correct way to get things done. But he knew he had a task to complete - he had to purchase a ticket on a train to another, nearby city where relatives were waiting for him.
Back in the day, people referred to these immigrants as “greenhorns” and they were, as a group, often the target for scams and crimes. It was almost a rite of passage for a new American immigrant to experience this and survive, hardened and resistant to any further schemes to defraud him and take his money. You won’t be surprised to hear that the 14 year old boy from Lithuania found a stranger who spoke his native tongue and offered to help him buy the needed train ticket. After handing over his precious coins and bills to the kindly stranger, the boy sat down, as instructed, to wait. “I’ll be right back with your ticket,” the stranger said. As minutes turned to hours and there was no sign of the stranger’s return, the boy realized he’d been duped.
In today’s world we often refer to the children who are growing up with the Internet as the “digital natives” and we adults, who have had to learn to use computers and the web in our dotage, as the “digital immigrants.” When it comes to cybercrime, the risks are more evenly distributed among all computer users, with age not increasing your risk. What does increase your risk of being a victim of cybercrime is inexperience with the online world, lack of education about safety practices, ignoring signs of risk or crime, working too quickly to complete tasks (and then clicking on things you might not otherwise click on) and failing to maintain good security practices consistently.
Our “digital natives” can be victims of cybercrime when they illegally download music, use peer to peer file sharing and expose their computers and their family’s private information to crooks. Or visit gambling, music, gaming and porn sites riddled with malware. Or turn off their security software in order to download a video or play a game, opening the computer up to the millions of viruses, worms and spyware out there on the web. Just because our children are comfortable online doesn’t mean they understand the criminal mind and are equipped to withstand the criminal’s efforts. It takes the adult experience and wisdom from the “immigrants” to educate our children about the people on the other end of that Internet connection.
The victims also need to know they are not alone and not to feel shame for being taken in. We need the victims to report these cybercrimes to authorities at http://www.ic3.ogv/. We have more information, great videos and other resources to determine if you’ve been a victim of cybercrime at our website at http://www.everyclickmatters.com/. You can also read Norton’s“Cybercrime Exposed” booklet to learn more about the ugly world of cybercrime and techniques for staying safe. I hope you’ll do so, and in turn, teach your children and young people you know what you learn.
As for our poor 19th century scam victim, his tale has a happy ending. He did as any crime victim should and he reported it to the neighborhood policeman. His description of the criminal and the nature of the crime left no doubt in the officer’s mind as to the culprit’s identity and within the day, the thief had been apprehended and the money returned. My great-grandfather Ben was, as you might imagine, thrilled to get his precious money back and with the help of the kindly policeman who showed him the right way to get his ticket, he was soon on his way to his loved ones and a bright future in America.
We all need someone to show us the right way to get things done. When it comes to cybercrime, with some education, street smarts and help from those around you, today’s immigrant and native need not become “digital greenhorns.”