Fraud

Written by Megan J. Forness , Rochester High School , Rochester, IL

Introduction

During the Spring, 1999 semester, a small group of students at Urbana High School (Urbana, IL, USA) were found to have been involved in credit card fraud. The sophomore group had been using their home machines, school machines and sniffer software to procure credit card numbers, which in turn were used by the students to purchase goods online. Though the students were ultimately held responsible for their activities, it is possible that in some situations, school administrators, technology coordinators, system operators or supervising teachers may be made considered responsible for some aspects of the situation. Educational institutions which fail to exercise due care and reasonable safeguards open themselves up to allegations of incompetence, negligence, law suits and forfeiture of insurance claims.

Webster's dictionary defines fraud as "deceit or trickery; an intentionl deception; an imposter." With the increasing use of technology and the Internet in school settings, students and teachers should be aware of the many fraudulent sites designed to deceive unsuspecting users. Providing students with current and accurate information has been greatly facilitated with the advent of the Internet, yet students and teachers must use good judgement and caution when judging the credibility of these sites. Fraudulent sites perpetuate the crime of robbing users of access to accurrate information. Additionally, people who misrepresent themselves on the Internet could prove to be even more damaging to the naive user. Please see the section on pedophilia for further information.

Issues

Issues involving fraud on the Internet encompass a broad range. Just as trickery and deceit flourish in our everyday world, so does this practice continue in cyberspace. Students should be aware that there are a number of fraudulent sites intended to deceive the unquestioning user, regardless of their age or education. Arming students with the knowledge to question potentially fraudulent information will better equip them to use the Internet more productively.

Although fraudulent sites and the people behind them may seem to possess no redeeming qualities, they may serve a useful purpose if used as educational tools. The mere existence of such sites requires both teachers and students to think more critically about the information presented on the Internet. Thinking critically is a skill that will be useful to students throughout their lives, even when they are not using technology. Awareness that these sites exist will necessitate consulting several sources and encourage thorough research.

Minimizing Potential for Succumbing to Fraudulent Sites

There are a number of ways to help students guard against being misinformed or harmed by fraudulent sites.

Individual Actions

1. Never accept a site as being "too good to be true" it probably is!

2. Never transmit any personal data such as social security number, telephone number, home address, or email address without knowing to whom it is being sent.

3. Always refer to several sources when collecting information. Look for consistency.

4. Examine the site for credible information including author's name, title, references, affiliations with well-known organizations, etc.

Network/School Actions

1. Schools need to educate students as to the nature of how information is posted on the Internet. Educate students that not all sites are credible and truthful.

2. A number of filtering software programs may be utilized in the school to decrease, but not eliminate, the number of fraudulant sites to which students have access.

Annotated Web Sites

Internet Fraud Watch http://www.fraud.org/internet/intset.htm A good site that exists to help consumers distinguish between legitimate and fraudulent promotions in cyberspace and route reports of suspected fraud to the appropriate law enforcement agencies. You will find a link to an online incident report form. It also provies a link that includes some useful basic Internet tips.

The National Fraud Information Center http://www.fraud.org/ Introduces a number of different types of fraud including links to telemarketing fraud , internet fraud , and fraud against the elderly .

Internet Fraud: How to Avoid Internet Investment Scams http://www.sec.gov/consumer/cyberfr.htm Produced by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, this site is an excellent introduction to the myriad of ways in which the Internet is being used as a tool for fraudulent purposes.

Flim Flam dot Com This site exposes fraud, confidence games, scams, rip-offs, swindles, rackets, shell games, deceptions and flimflam. http://www.flimflam.com/

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Developed 2/20/99. Last modified 5/9/99.