Executive Director of Crime Stoppers of Houston

9/24/19: KPRC2 – The online danger of social media ‘orbiters’ and what parents need to know

There’s a scary trend of online interactions between teenagers and social media followers that has the attention of law enforcement.

Some online followers are allegedly offering $50, $75 and $100 in exchange for a selfie, a picture of an outfit or nude photos.

Jenny Gutierrez and Bianca Morales, both 19, are new to the YouTube scene. They’re trying to jump on the latest craze for easy money by becoming rich like social media influencers.

“Hopefully if it works out, you know, make a living out of it. It’d be really nice to be able to afford the things we want and stuff in that way,” Gutierrez said.

To reach influencer status, they have to increase their videos’ views by the millions. That means allowing friends and even total strangers to follow them online, tracking their every move.

“I would say that I know about maybe one-third of the people that follow me,” Gutierrez said.

Not all social media followers are innocently watching. There’s an alarming trend of men called “orbiters” who follow young women online, requesting pictures, offering them money and even requesting to meet in real life.

“It might seem harmless — it’s a picture of a skirt and a top or shorts and a shirt. It grows into something,” Rania Mankarious, CEO of Crime Stoppers Houston, said, adding that no matter the request for photos, there’s a hidden risk. “They can turn violent. They can turn mob-like. There can be an infatuation with the young girl that turns into hatred towards this girl.”

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Financial Crime

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You are being watched. Every time you get on the internet using your computer, tablet, phone, etc. you will be watched by someone. Website cookies track what you do. Social media platforms collect and sell data about you to advertisers. Criminals use these same methods to find the best way to separate you from your money.

Phishing is the fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, credit card details, or other personal information by disguising an electronic communication as trustworthy. Phishing can look like an innocuous or legitimate email message involving a delivery, account information, fraudulent sales invoice, etc. Phishing can also come as a Tweet or Facebook post. Twitter recently shut down several accounts with popular pictures that contained instructions for bots. Users were inadvertently downloading bots that could control their computer or mobile device.

When a business email account is compromised, hackers infiltrate and watch your email. They learn business patterns so that they know when to send an illicit email authorizing or requesting a money transfer through an invoice scam. Many times, the hacker is taking an actual invoice the company expects to pay but changes the routing information to an account someone in the U.S. has opened on behalf of the hacker. In Texas and most states, opening a bank account for another, receiving money for another, and similar methods can be a felony. Typically, these transfers are not discovered until after the money is withdrawn.

Another example of email compromise involves real estate transactions. Hackers will compromise the email of a real estate agent, title company officer, or similar persons. Nothing happens until the last week when it gets crazy and stressful. Criminals take advantage by changing an email to divert the funds. ALWAYS verify a check or wire before submitting it.

Criminals target the lonely or elderly through romance scams. The hacker will create an online persona to target victim often by impersonating a sympathetic person like a deployed soldier, the disabled, etc. Contact is initially made through a social media platform but the scammer will immediately try to move communications to text, email, etc. before their account is shut down. These are professional con men (and women) who will spend months cultivating a relationship before asking for money.

In 2018, there was an estimated $9B in online fraud, but there are ways to protect yourself. Routinely clean your device and web browsers. More than three-fourths of successful attacks are on mobile devices. Beware of unfamiliar emails with links to photos or websites. Rather than clicking on a link, open a new page and type in the link address to make sure you go to the right website. The people doing these scams are professional con artists who just want the money without a care of what happens to anyone else. Make fraud harder by protecting yourself.

BREAKING: Santa Fe High School Shooting

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The situation is both terrifying and a terrifying reminder that at any time, any of our children, is at risk for facing an active shooter threat while at school. While law enforcement is trained to handle these situations, are you as a parent? What about the teachers faced with protecting your child? And how about our children, do they know how to mentally, emotionally and physically handle this trauma?  

Let’s get on the same page:

•    Do you know what your school’s policy is in the case of an active shooter? Will they immediately lock-down? Which law enforcement agencies cover your area? You’d be surprised how many families have no idea which police agency covers their school. Are their armed teachers on your campus? Parents note – Texas has nearly 350,000 teachers and about 1,200 districts and public charter schools. As of first quarter 2018, 172 Texas school districts have policies allowing licensed employees and/or board members to have guns, according to the Texas Association of School Boards. That can include security guards.

•    Do you know how reunification will take place with your students? Once safe, is there a “safe place” where students will be sent? A local fire department, a designated parking lot on campus?

•    Do you know how the school will update you? In this morning’s case, parents are tweeting that they don’t know how to reach their children. Phone calls are dropping and the school is not answering. Make sure your school has a plan in place to alert you with active updates in the case of a tragedy. Also, know that schools in the case of an active shooter simply cannot also field frantic parent calls. They must have a plan in place to release mass statements – that might be via a technology you must sign up for or via email that you listed when you registered your child for that school year. The main point, at the start of the year, make sure you know how active cases are reported. Check quarterly to make sure you have the most recent information. And if your school doesn’t have a policy, demand that they create one.

•    Do you have a way to get in touch with your child? Some children have phones or watches that allow direct communication with you. These are key during these times and even though they may allow you to talk directly to your child, remember that roads might be closed, and parents cannot necessarily drive to their students. If the students are in a secured place, do not ask your child to walk away from the safe spot to meet you. The area surrounding their safe spot may not be safe. PLEASE stick to the plans and rules of the law enforcement on the scene.

•    Have you talked through active shooters with your child beforehand? Do they understand that law enforcement is trained, what shelter-in-place means? That there needs to be a plan to communicate and that everyone will work together to keep the kids safe.

Parents, we think these things can never happen where we are, but the reality is they can and they do. Knowing this is a realty, Crime Stoppers’ Safe School Program has been in hundreds of Houston / Harris County Schools working with students in an age-appropriate non-threatening way to prevent these attacks before they can happen. As a result, our critical free program has worked with law enforcement to remove nearly 300 weapons from schools in our area before they could be used against our children.

Times have changed and threats to our kids exist and continue to escalate. We must be equipped with information, we must be trained, we must talk to our schools about the policies they have in place and with students about the threats that exist. In addition to the horror of an active shooter, navigating through the sheer emotional chaos in the aftermath is physically, emotionally and mentally draining. Through discussions and training and education, we can mitigate those parts. In today’s world, we must do this. Join us in our efforts to keep all kids and schools are safe by making sure your school is working with our free program.

Adult Protective Services: Protect the Elderly

Crime Stoppers of Houston is proud to partner with Adult Protective Services to help bring awareness to elder abuse and protect the elderly population of Houston.

 

Adult Protective Services’ Mission is to protect older adults and people with disabilities from abuse, neglect and exploitation by investigating and providing or arranging for services as necessary to alleviate or prevent further maltreatment.

May is Elder Abuse Awareness Month wherein Adult Protective Services host Annual Conference to highlight issues relating to elder abuse and bring awareness to the community. This year’s conference is on May 18, 2018 at 50 Waugh Dr. Registration through Eventbrite: https://apsmayconference.eventbrite.com

The elderly are vulnerable and due to lack of social support, cognitive ability and financial security they are at risk of maltreatment.

Risk Factors for Elder Mistreatment

  • Isolation
  • Reduced cognitive capacity
  • Physical disability
  • Caregiver dependence
  • Poverty

Factors for Perpetration

  • Decline in functional ability (Self-neglect)
  • Mental illness
  • Drug and alcohol abuse
  • Lack of training
  • Physically unable to provide care
  • Inadequate coping skills
  • Exposure to maltreatment as a child

FY 2017: Adult children make up the highest percentage of alleged perpetrators – 36.7%.

Indicators of Neglect

  • Hoarding, home in disrepair
  • Malnourishment, dehydration, over/under medication
  • Lack of utilities (A/C, heat, water, electricity)
  • Poor personal hygiene
  • Lack of medical/mental health treatment

*Neglect makes up 73.1% of all cases in FY 2017

Indicators of Abuse

  • Physical Abuse:  Cuts, puncture wounds, burns, bruises, welts
  • Sexual Abuse: Sexually transmitted infection, unexplained pregnancy, rectal bleeding
  • Emotional Abuse:  Fear of perpetrator, low self-esteem, depression, caretaker cursing, yelling and screaming

Indicators of Exploitation

  • Unusual activity in bank account
  • Caregiver’s name added to bank account
  • Unpaid bills
  • Unusual purchases on credit cards
  • Suspicious loans taken out in older adult’s name
APS Statistics – Fiscal Year 2017
Statewide

114,305: Intake Calls

84,712: Completed Investigations

51,314: Validated Cases

Houston District

21,565: Intake Calls

17,128: Completed Investigations

12,415: Validated Cases

Warning Signs of Identity Theft

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Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America.

Warning Signs Of Identity Theft 

  • Your monthly credit card and bank statements suddenly stop arriving.
  • You are denied credit for reasons that do not match your understanding of your financial position.
  • You start getting bills from companies you do not recognize.
  • You observe unusual entries on your credit report.
  • A creditor calls to say you’ve been approved or denied credit that you haven’t applied for. Or, you get credit card statements for accounts you don’t have.

Preventing Identity Theft

  • Guard your Social Security Number. Give it out only when it is absolutely necessary.
  • Minimize the amount of personal financial information and credit cards you carry. Memorize passwords and PINs instead of carrying them with you.
  • Keep personal financial information in a secure place in your home. Shred identifying information before throwing it away.
  • Do not give sensitive information to unsolicited callers. Remember that most legitimate businesses will not ask for your Social Security or bank account numbers.
  • Shield your hand when entering your PIN at a bank ATM or when making long distance calls with a calling card.
  • Pick up new checks or a new or reissued credit card at your bank rather than having them delivered to your home. Do not have your driver license number or social security number printed on your checks.
  • Check your credit report each year for signs of unusual activity.
  • If your bank or credit card statement does not arrive on time, call the issuer to make sure they are being sent to the proper address. Also contact the Post Office to see if a change of address has been filed in your name. A thief may steal or divert your statements to hide illegal activity.

If You Have Been The Victim Of Identity Theft

  • Contact the Houston Police Department immediately at 713.884.3131
  • Contact the following credit reporting agencies: Trans Union (800.680.7289, tuc.com), Equifax (800.525.6285, equifax.com), and Experian (888.397.3742, experian.com).
  •  Contact the Federal Trade Commission at 877.IDTHEFT
  • Review your credit report. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months (877.322.8228, annualcreditreport.com).
 

Visit Midtown Houston to get involved with Midtown Houston and find information about the next monthly Public Safety Committee meeting.