Case Studies

Articles

• A fake warning on my computer infected it with a virus! – Files showed up on his computer that he didn't put there, other files were disappearing, and pop-up windows for adult websites were appearing on his desktop.
• All I did was open an attachment! – The email didn't contain any pictures, but it did install a nasty virus onto Justin's computer.
• Cell phone spam cost us... literally – It started as a trickle, and then became a flood. The mobile spam quickly used up their free incoming messages, and charges began piling up.
• Criminals made me pay big bucks to protect my website – Vanessa was horrified when she got an anonymous email threatening to shut down her website.
• Cyberbullies attacked my daughter's videos. – Strangers left derogatory and profane comments on my daughter's YouTube videos.
• Forget back doors. I let a hacker right through the front door. – It had only taken a few minutes for the hacker to log into the company's computer system and install a program that gave him full control of the system.
• Half of my email is spam! – Half of my email is spam!
• Have you seen my PDA? – As soon as Jack realized his PDA was missing, he called the company's network administrator, who immediately went to work assessing the damage.
• I knew that deal was too good to be true – The software wouldn't work on his computer - and worse, it had installed a damaging virus on his machine.
• I let the Internet get in the way of my normal life – He was spending up to six hours a day - often late into the night - surfing the Web, instant messaging his friends, and playing online games.
• I lost money and my identity! – When he checked his account statement, there were thousands of dollars worth of purchases from websites for items he had never ordered.
• I loved sharing files; I didn't realize I was sharing viruses too! – Mary had been downloading files from people she didn't know, and many of these files contained viruses and worms.
• I made my own secrets public! – A teacher found her blog and read entries where Grace bragged about blogging during class.
• I never thought I could be bullied while sitting in my bedroom – Whenever she logged on to the Internet, she found hostile emails in her inbox and cruel IM's on her screen.
• I thought I was going to get rich! – By year's end, Phillip was out $50,000 with nothing to show for it.
• I thought I was talking to the bank – Someone posing as a representative from Richard's bank stole his information and ruined his credit.
• I thought they were only children’s stories – It turned out that she had stumbled onto a genre of fan fiction called chanslash, which depicts sexual relationships between popular characters.
• I was tricked by an official-looking email – Someone had stolen her username and password and sold thousands of dollars worth of non-existent goods in Ellen's name.
• Instant messaging? More like instant trouble! – The strange messages were actually coming from hackers who faked his friends' screen names, and the files and links were installing malware on his machine.
• It felt like a personal attack, but it was on my website – When Sandra took a closer look, she noticed that strange articles had been posted to her blog, and explicit photos had been uploaded to her photo gallery.
• It was fun to file-share music... until I got caught – A federal task force had come across her collection on the 'Net and begun an investigation.
• Lousy investment advice sank my savings – Gail pinned her hopes on stocks that were overhyped on the Internet.
• My IM away messages gave away too much information – The weird calls kept coming, until Sean finally had to change his cell phone number.
• My blog got me fired! – His boss pulled Vincent's blog up on his computer and showed him posts that included pictures of the company's facilities and employees.
• My business' reputation was tarnished – Her site was down for a total of 13 days, during which Diane lost thousands of dollars in revenue.
• My computer was hacked through social networking. – A friendly message allowed criminals to get inside the company's network.
• My new online boyfriend still had a wife! – He told Suzanne that he had to drop her off at her hotel and meet her later - his wife was expecting him at home!
• My photo was spread around the Internet! – She went to the website and saw her pictures and videos splashed all over it.
• My son found disturbing pictures online – John's parents were horrified that their son had found these things online
• People paid me to expose myself online – Men were offering large amounts of money for Ethan to expose himself on camera.
• Spammers took my money – After four months had gone by and he still hadn't received his pills, Leonard finally accepted that he had been ripped off.
• The information in my son's homework is all wrong... but he got it from the Internet! – Much of the information in the report was completely false, and much of it was based on articles that had been out of date since the '90s.
• Too much information about me was on the Web! – After chatting with a local man online, Peter was stalked and robbed.