31 Aug Call 211 To Report A Cybercrime
If that doesn’t work, then go to FraudSupport.org
– Hillarie McClure, Multimedia Director
Portland, Maine – Aug. 31, 2020
Kristin Judge is on a mission to build out a national cybercrime reporting infrastructure by 2021. If she can pull it off, then every citizen in the U.S. will be able to dial “211” to report a cybercrime.
Judge’s startup, the Cybercrime Support Network (CSN), is a non-profit with more than 30 virtual workers. They’ve gotten the ball rolling and so far the 211 number is ready to handle calls dealing with hacks and breaches in: Rhode Island; Kent county in Michigan; and Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties in Florida.
North Carolina, New Jersey and Mississippi are expected to go live this year.
Law enforcement understood they couldn’t solve the problem of cybercrime on their own, so CSN has been working to help take the pressure off of 911 dispatchers by providing training, generating awareness, and creating FraudSupport.org for victim reporting.
Cybercrime Radio: Kristin Judge, Founder & CEO at Cybercrime Support Network
211 hotline aims to go national
CSN has now partnered with CISA to secure the funding necessary to build the national infrastructure. CSN and its partners are working with state and local governments to activate a standardized reporting system where once a call comes in, law enforcement will respond in real time and work with national government entities to apprehend cybercriminals quickly and efficiently.
CSN has also collaborated with Google to create ScamSpotter.org, which spots the most common patterns used by scammers and offers practical advice, including the “three golden rules,” to help consumers stop them in their tracks.
According to CSN, there are approximately 50 million consumers falling victim to cybercrimes each year, resulting in the theft of roughly $300 billion.
Romance scams alone accounted for more than $200 million in losses last year.
The IC3, a division of the FBI, had 1,000 cybercrime reports per day pre-COVID, and those numbers are increasing rapidly, now averaging about 4,000 per day.
In just the minute it has taken you to read this far, around $3,600 in fraud was committed nationally.
There’s no shame in making sure that you’re not getting scammed, and there’s no shame in having been a victim of a scam. As cybercriminals evolve their tactics, we’re all more at risk for becoming a victim, regardless of our cyber hygiene and acumen.
If you or someone you know has been or may be a victim of cybercriminal activity, direct them to FraudSupport.org and to dial 211 where applicable.
Listen to hear the full episode.
– Hillarie McClure is Multimedia Director at Cybercrime Magazine
