Cybercrime has become more and more frequent given the largely online lives we’re all leading. Unfortunately, not every law enforcement agency has the training, equipment, or staffing to assist cybercrime victims. And the few agencies who do have the specialized training and equipment tend to set a minimum threshold as to what they’re able to work on. As a result, “small-time” cybercrime often goes unreported and unaddressed despite the life-changing impact it has on the victims.

This session’s speaker is Robert Burda, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Cybercrime Support Network (CSN) which assists in serving individuals and small businesses impacted by cybercrime. Robert previously worked at the FBI as a Unit Chief at the National Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Specifics discussed during the webinar are on:

• The frequency of cybercrimes in the US and CSN’s work in helping victims impacted by cybercrimes and preventing them from happening.
• The pure and cyber-enhanced categories of cybercrime, its characteristics, and examples.
• The impact of cybercrimes and scams
  • At the big picture – looking at the number of victims and the billion dollars of losses.
  • At the micro level – in terms of the personal impact on the victims’ lives – from mere annoyance and inconvenience to isolation and suicide ideation.
• The problems with cybercrime from the victims and the law enforcement’s perspective alluding to the lack of awareness and resources on the subject.
• CSN’s Fight Cybercrime website that aims to bridge the gap on the lack of awareness and resources to recognize, report, and recover from cybercrimes.
• A look into the different types of scams and cybercrimes, their subtypes, common tactics, and warning signs to look out for and raise awareness on to prevent further victimization.
• The common barriers that victims face and experience preventing them from reporting.
• The benefits of reporting for the victims, the law enforcement agencies, and the public.
• A guide on where and how to report instances of scams and cybercrime.
• Strategies to be implemented at the individual level to build a foundation of cybersecurity within the agencies and the communities through multi-factor authentication, privacy setting updates, activating automatic updates, using password managers, creating strong passwords, and identifying phishing attempts.
• An exercise to spot red flags in a Phishing email
• CSN’s resources and programs to help cybercrime victims, particularly romance scam survivors and military veterans who are targeted in scams.

Questions from the webinar participants are on:

• What victims whose social media accounts were compromised can do.
• Resources mentioned in the webinar.
• Recommendations for a password manager.
• Dealing with a man-in-the-middle attack.
• Recovering information that has been exposed in the black market.
• CSN resources that can be shared publicly with victims
• Scams targeting military members and information about the military and veteran programs.
• Why scammers ask for gift cards from the victims.
• Regaining access to deleted messages that can be used as evidence.

Click here to view and register for other upcoming Victim Assistance webinars and recordings on the JCH Platform.

Resources and Handouts

• Handout: CSN Overview
• Video Shown: Taxes Paid with Gift Cards
• Video Shown: Grandchild in Jail
• Link Shared: Virus Total
• Password Manager: Keeper
• Password Manager: Last Pass

Audience Comments

• “Robert really helps the viewer understand why it is so important to be critical of cybercrimes and what the viewer can do to protect themselves from becoming a victim, as well as how they can help potential victims. I’m glad he drove home the point about using 2-factor authentication because it does often make the difference between being hacked and being secure.” — SarahAlexandra
• “The speaker was very knowledgeable and I learned a lot. Thank you.” — JACOB
• “I like how the webinar had someone with experience in the field and was pushing out resources to help. This was very informative and really appreciate the class.” — Jessica
• “I am glad to find out about the website that i wasn’t aware and the resources for victims, and small businesses. The speaker was very knowledgeable about the subject.” — Rebeca
• “I did not know about any of these virus-checking websites or the cybercrime website itself. It will be useful to our agency to assist on calls with victims.” — John
• “The instructor was quick and to the point and did not give a long-winded presentation. Great job”….. — Tim
• “The resources were extremely helpful. Information on passphrases with examples made it easy to understand and be able to relay information to victims. Also the example of red flags and what to look for in scams and phishing.” — Hazel

NACP and D-SAACP Advocates can earn 1 CEU by attending this webinar through the National Advocate Credentialing Program (NACP)® and the DoD Sexual Assault Advocate Certification Program (D-SAACP). Founded in 1975, the National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) is the oldest national victim assistance organization of its type in the United States and is the recognized leader in victim advocacy, education and credentialing.  To learn more about NOVA, visit trynova.org.