Criminal justice programs could teach students to identify and avoid internet scams
As the internet becomes increasingly prevalent in Americans' lives, it also becomes more important that web surfers recognize potential cyber scams and how to avoid them.
The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), which is a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center, frequently provides updated information regarding the latest internet scams.
Recently, the center warned about emails stating "your federal tax payment was rejected." These emails claim that they are recipients' "last notice" and advise them to follow a link to provide additional information about their tax information. A similar email asked addressees to open an attachment for more information about their allegedly rejected taxes.
The IC3 also warned about a scam in which perpetrators called victims about an antivirus program. The caller would request that the victim go to a website and click a certain link or download a computer program to remove viruses. Once this was done, the perpetrator could gain access to the victims' computers.
In order to avoid similar frauds, Slam the Online Scam recommends that computer users keep an up-to-date security system, never enter personal information into pop-up screens and verify all websites' security status.
Online criminal justice programs may address additional internet scams and offer more tips to avoid them.
