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BKNTCRMD.RVW 20041016

"Net Crimes and Misdemeanors", J. A. Hitchcock, 2002, 0-910965-57-9,
U$24.95/C$37.95
%A J. A. Hitchcock
%C 143 Old Marlin Pike, Medford, NJ 08055
%D 2002
%G 0-910965-57-9
%I Information Today Inc.
%O U$24.95/C$37.95 609-654-6266
%O http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...bsladesinterne
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...bsladesinte-21
%O http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASI...bsladesin03-20
%P 359 p.
%T "Net Crimes and Misdemeanors"

This book is not about net crimes in general, but about cyberstalking
and online harassment.

Chapter one details Hitchcock's own experience with cyberstalking and
harassment, an extremely unpleasant case of deliberate personal attack
by fraudsters she had exposed. Three other cases are briefly
described in chapter two, along with some basic advice on header
analysis. Spam is delineated, and some helpful sites for dealing with
it are listed, in chapter three (which also contains the usual, not
terribly useful, suggestions for keeping your address off the net).
Chapter four lists some urban legends and chain letters, which are
hardly criminal material.

Chapter five lists various types of online scams, but really only
addresses credit card theft. The utility of the advice varies: the
book suggests that you only deal with vendors with a professional
looking website (hardly a guarantee of virtue), but also gives fairly
detailed descriptions of indicators for a secure HTTP (HyperText
Transfer Protocol) session. Online auction fraud is covered in
chapter six, from the perspective of both buyer and seller. The story
of adoption fraud, in chapter seven, is particularly distressing.
Chapter eight give some account of identity theft, but the initial
"case" is more related to harassment, and the material never really
looks at more usual identity theft situations. More cases of
cyberstalking are listed in chapter nine, with not as much helpful
content. Chapter ten discusses trolls, flames--and more harassment.

Chapter eleven examines chat and harassment. Other means of
harassment are discussed in chapter twelve. Child exploitation is
reviewed in chapter thirteen. Chapter fourteen looks at various
issues in the workplace. Statements from various law enforcement
personnel are given in chapter fifteen--along with an odd mention of
the Sam Spade program. Harassment at universities is covered in
chapter sixteen. There is a terse mention of the PGP program in
seventeen. Chapter eighteen describes viruses and firewalls, but not
very well. Tips on investigating harassment are in chapter nineteen.

The book does provide some helpful resources on certain topics. It
could have provided more, if it didn't keep returning to the same
topic over and over again.

copyright Robert M. Slade, 2004 BKNTCRMD.RVW 20041016

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