Cyber-Crime is on the Rise
Says District Attorney Rep
"Cyber-crime is everywhere, and no one is completely safe from it." Those were the sobering words from Kimo Hildreth, a member of the Ventura County District Attorney's office. Back by popular demand to Rotary Ventura South on Monday, January 28, Kimo explained a number of the widespread scams that people in Ventura County and across the country are falling victim to.
Most cyber-crime is, of course, designed to separate people from their money. And the old standard rule still applies: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Worldwide, global losses just from business email compromise alone totaled over $9 billion in 2018.
Among his many helpful recommendations, Kimo offered six tips to keep from falling victim to online crime:
- Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (password and a code sent to your phone)
- Interrogate suspicious emails (hover over the email and examine where it is really coming from)
- Don't use public WiFi without a virtual private network (for checking email, banking, and sending documents)
- Be an educator (tell your friends about scams you have avoided)
- Use strong passwords and security questions (long passwords that aren't easily guessed)
- Patch everything (update your computer regularly - most compromises affect unpatched systems)
For further information on how to protect yourself from cyber-crimes, or to file a complaint, visit www.ic3.gov.