Customer Reviews

Net Crimes & Misdemeanors: Outmaneuvering the Spammers, Swindlers, and Stalkers Who Are Targeting You Online

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The Internet has opened up many doors of opportunity for people to communicate with one another and to share lots of information. The Internet has also broken down many walls of seclusion that once shielded us from other people. Unfortunately, some of the same social ills commonplace in society today - such as stalking, harassment, scamming, and identity theft, have found fresh life and new victims online - sometimes with devastating results - including rape and murder.

Jayne Hitchcock wrote Net Crimes & Misdemeanors to recount her own horror story and to offer readers important information that will help them prevent - or at least minimize - the likelihood that they themselves and others will encounter the same mistreatment at the hands of other people. Hitchcock was herself the victim of both online and off line stalking and harassment. This book spells it out - fraudulent newsgroup postings, harassing e-mails, spamming, phone calls, identity theft, and other criminal activity. She experienced a severely challenging period of time in her own life. Her personal account is most gripping.

After discussing her own experiences, Hitchcock goes on to discuss these and other crimes and mischievous activities at length that threaten the welfare of people online - fraudulent postings, e-mail harassment, invasion of privacy, spamming, scamming, identity theft, auction frauds, adoption frauds, banking and shopping concerns, inappropriate information gathering techniques, threats to child safety, and so on. Readers are provided with stunning accounts of other people who faced various forms of online harassment and scamming. We read about how they responded to these threats, how their lives were changed, and how we can take action to avoid much of these same problems ourselves.

The strengths of the book includes the sharing of well-planned strategies, helpful checklists that encourage and nurture responsible behavior, a variety of helpful online resources, and much creative advice on how to cope with many real-life situations. For instance, readers will learn how to tweak Internet software programs for maximum protection, how to safely communicate with other people online, how to deal with problematic people they may encounter, how to locate and notify local, state, and federal agencies in regards to computer and Internet criminal activity, and how we can learn to best help one another.

Jayne Hitchcock distinguishes herself as a real cybercrime expert. Her book will motivate people to sit up and take notice of what's going on around them and to help them to respond appropriately to the threats that all people face online. Online stalking, harassment, and other crimes are not laughing matters and they should never be taken lightly. In this one book Jayne Hitchcock provides all the reasons why everyone should take such threats more seriously.

The book is ideally suited for a variety of workshops, seminars, and community awareness events. Government agencies, local law enforcement agencies, college campus officials, women's service groups, and child protection organizations will greatly benefit from the detailed information provided. The book is timely, gripping, and compelling. It's essential reading and highly recommended.

This book is a very realistic volume about the dangers present on the Internet, and what just about anyone can do to be safer. The author begins by describing her own experience with being stalked online then offline. The impact of her story is that this kind of thing CAN and DOES happen.

Hitchcock then begins moving through a variety of online dangers, from stalking to spoofing to scamming. Each danger she describes is very much present. Her words should not be taken lightly by a reader with little or no experience with the Internet.

The best pointer I received from this book was the lack of security in email. The author describes email more as a postcard than a letter written and sealed in an envelope. Since I write many emails and sometimes address sensitive ministerial issues, I have begun using and promoting free encryption and digital signature software.

For people who spend any amount of time online, whether it be email, chat or shopping, this book is a MUST. It is one of the best summaries of online hazards I have read. This one is well worth the price!

I picked this up at a local bookstore on the advice of a friend - I'm new to the net. Wow! I was amazed at the stories about what happened to others online, but this book shows you how to protect yourself from being scammed, stalked, harassed, hacked and more. Plus, if something does happen to you, there is advice on what steps to take. I especially liked the chapter about spam and how to report it. I now have this book next to my computer for easy reference. It's a must for anyone who is online!!!

I just received the 2nd edition, and Hitchcock has again put the fear of the virtual world in me. Her examples and discussion is certainly eye-opening as to what or who is lurking out there.

Not only is this a good read, but it is also a great reference for high school and undergraduate college. The examples and resources made it a valued purchase for me.

Ms. Hitchcock outlines the major threats to Internet privacy and safety we face in a clear, easy-to-read, and very comprehensive manner. Although the book caters more to the novice Web surfer than it does the technologically adept, even hardcore geeks will be impressed at how she takes stories of cyberstalking, spoofing, auction fraud, and flame wars and puts human faces on all of them.

Though message boards and newsgroups have been replaced with blogs and MySpace, the basic principles of being smart and protecting yourself when you go online are even more important, and Hitchcock reminds us that no matter how smart or savvy you think you are, you can end up a victim of "Net Crimes", unless you pay attention.

Definitely recommended.

Net Crimes is an outstanding source of information to learn how to protect yourself while online. It thoroughly covers many topics and addresses several issues that you may not realize put you at risk. After reading it, I am "kicking myself" for things I have inadvertently done online that could have caused some potential problems. I will now be much more cautious about websites I visit and personal information that I provide to them.

Net Crimes & Misdemeanors is truly one of those rare books that is written intelligently, yet not too over one's head. I consider myself an expert in computers and Internet security and found this book taught me some things I hadn't even thought of. Sometimes online users tend to forget the basics of staying safe and I was guilty of some of them.

Kudos to Hitchcock and I look forward to reading more books by this author.

I bought this book after the author helped me with my cyberstalking case. Not only did she help me get my cyberstalker kicked off his ISP, she "held my hand" through the whole process.
This book is truly an ideal book for EVERY Internet user, no matter how old you are. There is everything from cyberstalking to online auctions, shopping, spam, viruses and much more. The tips and resources are wonderful and the accompanying web site at www.netcrimes.net is a must to bookmark and visit frequently.
Buy this book today - and buy copies of it for your friends and family, too!

I don't consider myself a newbie on the net, but while browsing through this book at a local bookstore the other day, I began to discover things I didn't know. So I bought the book! Since then, it stays on my desk in arm's reach in case I have questions or need to look up something. I can't tell you how many times someone has sent me an e-mail claiming the message they're forwarding "really happened." All I have to do is check out the chapter on Urban Legends to see what the deal is. All of the tips and advice are terrific, the real-life situations compelling and the information is easy to understand, but didn't make me feel like a "dummy." Kudos to J.A. Hitchcock for writing such a wonderful book - I hope there's another one coming out soon that covers other online issues not covered in this one.

A friend of mine bought me this book because I'd gotten burned badly in an online auction (I was the buyer). Although my friend put a sticky note where the auction chapter was, I began reading this from the beginning and Chapter 1 is a doozy - about the author and her experience with a cyberstalker. She considered herself an expert about the Internet, yet she still became a victim, which I found very humbling. She also didn't let the jerks get away with it. I admire her strength and patience (it took her six years to finally see them go to jail) and it made me do something more about my auction fiasco.

As a result of the wonderful advice given in this book, not only about online auctions, but just about everything else as well, I finally got my money back, the seller got kicked off the online auction site and it looks like this person who scammed me might be seeing the inside of a jail cell.

I thank the author for the great advice and I have bought several copies of Net Crimes & Misdemeanors to give out as Christmas presents this year.