Cyberspace has become an attractive hunting ground for criminals motivated to make money. Studies show cybercrime rates increasing, even in a small town like Oxford.
Although there is no universal definition of cybercrime, law enforcement makes the distinction between two main types of Internet-related crime; advanced attacks against computer software and cyber-enabled crime, ranging from financial crimes to terrorism and crimes against children.
Last month, computer systems at the Oxford School District were hacked. The district was a victim of criminal crypto-ransomware, a type of malicious software that infects a computer and restricts access until the user pays a ransom.
If the perpetrator behind the attack had his way, district officials would have paid nearly $9,000 to restore their files. Because of the district’s variety of safety backups, officials did not have to give in to demands.
Other victims aren’t so lucky. Hackers target members of all demographics, like 23-year-old student Cody Elias.
“I got a call from my mom asking if I had spent $200 at Target, and I said ‘There’s no way,’” Elias said. “Someone had gotten my credit card information from playing online video games. I’m definitely more cautious now.”
Sergeant Ryan Winters of the Oxford Police Department said Oxford experiences more financial-related cyber crimes. Winters said cybercrime is difficult to combat because it crosses national borders.
“Cybercrime is increasing across the country,” Winters said. “I think that’s due to out-of-staters or foreigners setting up fake accounts, harassing and stalking people. You see an increase during tax season, too. These hackers know a town like Oxford has money.”
Winters said training and awareness are the most important steps to mitigate these attacks.
“A lot of [scams] that I’ve seen have come from Facebook, Instagram and Tinder,” Winters said. “If you think something sounds fishy, give us a call. I get a lot of phone calls now that it’s tax season.”
One common technique scammers employ is phishing, or sending false emails pretending to come from a bank or other financial institution requesting personal information. If criminals receive this information, they can access bank and credit accounts, as well as create new accounts to destroy a credit rating.
Gilda Daniels, Region Bank’s Oxford branch manager, said this type of damage can take months or even years to fix, so protecting personal information online is an important skill to learn.
“We almost have, on a day-by-day basis, customers come in that are falling for scams,” Daniels said. “If it’s too good to be true, it is. Sometimes I’m really amazed at how easily people are scammed. These [scammers] prey on people all day. If they prey on 100,000 and get 10 of them, that’s still a lot of money in their pockets.”
