VICTIMS OF BURGLARIES

The problems that burglary victims face are discussed on pages 131-135 and 169-172 in the Tenth Edition.

The Attorney General’s Office in Iowa presents a great deal of valuable information that can assist victims of burglaries to better understand their reactions and their opportunities for reimbursement in this pamphlet.

___________________________

THE HOME OF A MEMBER OF CONGRESS IS BROKEN INTO, AND PRESIDENT TRUMP TWEETS ABOUT IT

A burglar tries to enter the home of a congressman. Find out what the congressman did, and the president’s controversial response here.

_________________________________________

VICTIMS OF SCAMS, ONLINE FRAUD AND IDENTITY THEFT

The victims of this broad category of “white collar” crimes are examined on pp. 156-169 of Chapter 5 in the Tenth Edition.

A POLICE DEPARTMENT IMPROVES HOW IT HANDLES VICTIMS OF CYBERCRIMES

The NYPD has changed its procedures and has trained its detectives to take the complaints of victims of cyberscams and internet-based swindles more seriously. Victimologists must determine whether these reforms really have an impact, as they are described here.

SCAMMERS PRETEND TO BE CALLING IN BEHALF OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S OFFICE FOR VICTIMS OF CRIME (OVC)

They ask for money or claim a credit card has been compromised. The OVC urges recipients of these spam phone calls by impostors to notify the real Office For Victims Of Crime, as cited  (scroll down) here.

__________________________________________

SOME PEOPLE WERE TRICKED BY FAKE “CALLS FROM THE IRS” THAT ACTUALLY WERE PLACED FROM INDIA

The highly publicized phony IRS phone call scam hopefully has been put out of business. Warnings were issued but still many people panicked and paid off the “IRS” before penalties escalated, when actually they should have hung up, as described here. Those thousands of Americans who fell for it – and forked over hundreds of thousands of dollars – really should not be ridiculed. Even though the caller ID display might indicate “IRS” or “Washington,” the scam emanated from a call center overseas. In certain cases, the scammers did their homework by gathering information from social media in order to make their demands for “back taxes” seem more credible, as recounted here.

A sweep by federal agents of people in the U.S. that might shut down this scam before it claims any more victims is shown here.

__________________________________________

SCAMMERS STEAL MONEY FROM FAMILIES AWAITING CHECKS DURING THE PANDEMIC

Identity thieves re-routed payments to their accounts from the IRS and other  government agencies during the corona virus crisis, as explained here.

___________________________________________

MOVIE ABOUT IDENTITY THEFT TRIES TO MAKE THIS TYPE OF IMPERSONATION A LAUGHING MATTER

Provides a counterpoint to the emphasis on the frustration experienced discussed on p. 144 of Ch. 5 and p. 121 of Ch. 4 in the 9th edition.

Who says victimology is always depressing? This movie struggles to inject a little humor into a story about a victim who tracks down the woman who stole his identity – but the critics generally give it a thumbs down. Read the movie review here, and watch the trailer here. 

_______________________________________

VICTIMS OF IDENTITY THEFT OFTEN HAVE DONE “NOTHING WRONG”

Furthers the arguments of victim-defending that those whose identities are stolen usually are not to blame; see pp. 148-152 of Ch. 5 of the 9th edition.

This article points out different ways that innocent victims have suffered when impostors steal their federal tax refunds, through no fault of their own – such as sending in a  1040 tax return the old fashioned way – on paper as opposed to filing electronically. Read about 10 ways of losing tax refunds to impersonators based on real-life cases here. The Internal Revenue Service was hacked and had to alert over 200,000 filers that they were vulnerable, more than originally thought, as described here.

According to the Better Business Bureau, one of the top 10 scams in 2015 was imposters posing as IRS agents calling unsuspecting victims. Read the entire list of the ways that fraudsters attempt to deceitfully separate people from their money here.

Identity thieves are known to take advantage of holiday shoppers, and find opening up a store credit card in the victim’s name to be especially easy and fast. So what expert advice is offered to protect against this ploy? “Check your credit card and bank statements daily” for suspicious charges. Is this practical, or does this provide a pretext for victim-blaming? Watch the news video here.

___________________________________________

ARE STRONGER PASSWORDS THE SOLUTION?

Illustrates the clash between vicim-blaming vs. system-blaming perspectives.

Huge data breaches endanger millions of unsuspecting persons.  When hackers break into the records of corporations or agencies and compromise the security of their customers or clients, a victim-blaming call often arises: develop longer and stronger passwords, and change them frequently. The situation is becoming so complicated that some firms now offer to manage their customers’ “password security” – for a fee, of course, as described in this radio clip.

“AMERICA’S MAYOR” PLUGS AN IDENTITY THEFT PREVENTION SERVICE

Dramatizes how businesses might exploit fears to sell products and services, as discussed in Ch. 2.

A well known politician who tried to win the Republican nomination for president in 2008 appears on late night television ads promoting a protection service with a questionable track record, as described here.

 

COLLEGE STUDENTS ARE ATTRACTIVE TARGETS TO IDENTITY THIEVES

A great deal of personal information (loan numbers, social security numbers, and credit card numbers) is floating around in unguarded locations like smartphones, tablets and laptops on campus, and in the college’s files, as this video points out.

VICTIMS OF IDENTITY THEFT LOSE THEIR TAX REFUNDS

Another example of victim-defending: that those whose identities are stolen usually are not to blame for their misfortunes; see Ch. 5

A growing number of people who file for their federal income tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service discover that an identity thief has already cashed their check. Read about this fraud directed at people who are owed money by the IRS, and then listen to the radio interview here

HUGE DATA BREACH AT A HEALTH CARE COMPANY ENDANGERS UP TO 80 MILLION CUSTOMERS

Illustrates the system-blaming argument that data breaches are a bigger problem than carelessness around passwords.

Who is to blame (besides the hackers) for the exposure of social security numbers and addresses of millions of unsuspecting persons? This columnist addresses the issue of blame.

_________________________________________________

.__________________________________________________

VICTIMS OF CYBERSTAKING

Cyberstalking is discussed on p. 430-432 of Ch. 11 in the Tenth Edition.

A WOMAN COMPLAINS ABOUT THREATENING EMAILS AND ENDS UP UNSEATING THE HEAD OF THE CIA 

The complaint by a woman of what is interpreted as cyber-harassment  leads to an investigation by the FBI. The emails are traced back to a woman who is a biographer of a highly decorated general known for his counter-insurgency strategies in Iraq and Afghanistan, who was appointed by President Obama to head up the CIA. Apparently, the biographer of the CIA director was having an affair with him and was jealous of the other woman’s interest in him. The CIA director resigned because of the scandal. Read about the intrigue here.  But why did an accusation about cyberstalking trigger a federal investigation?

 

_____________________________________________

VICTIMS OF MOTOR VEHICLE THEFTS

AND CARJACKINGS

Victims of vehicle thefts are focused upon on pp. 135-140 in Chapter 4 of the Tenth Edition.

Carjacking, a type of robbery, is examined on p. 132 in Box 4.3 of Chapter 4 of the Tenth Edition.

__________________________________________

AUTO THEFT IS RISING: A CRIME WAVE DUE TO VICTIM FACILITATION?

Victim-blaming is back with a vengeance. For many years, automakers have claimed credit for the steady decline. Now, have thieves figured out how to thwart sophisticated alarm systems? According to the police, the problem is due to victim carelessness: motorists are leaving their keys – or fobs (remotes)  – in their cars, as alleged here.

________________________________________________

WHICH CARS, TRUCKS, AND SUVs DO THIEVES TARGET THE MOST?

Updates a lising in a chart in Chapter 5.

The answer depends in part on the methodology that is used. Here is how the list compiled by the National Insurance Crime Bureau looks.

 

WHICH CITIES ARE THE MOST DANGEROUS AND THE SAFEST WHEN PARKING A CAR?

Updates a listing of cities that appears in Chapter 5.

An analysis of FBI UCR data by the National Insurance Crime Bureau reveals that a number of cities in California are the most dangerous places to park. The safest streets can be found in a number of small college towns in New York and Pennsylvania, as revealed here.

NEW WAYS THAT THIEVES STEAL VICTIMS’ PARKED CARS

Victims can’t be blamed now that thieves have developed electronic devices that unlock and start-up their parked vehicles (see the video here and another more recent video here.)