Cybercrime

Do you suspect you might be a victim of Cybercrime? The term ‘Cybercrime’ is defined as any illegal activity carried out using computers or the internet. Cybercrimes can range from Identity theft to cyber-bullying, fraud to the illegal selling of services.

Becoming a victim of cybercrime is, unfortunately, very common. The appropriation of a person’s identity for example, is easy to do online and hard to verify. Likewise, offering a service while providing false information about the specifications or qualifications of the service provider, or the legal veracity of his claims, is another pitfall. Online scammers are a dime a dozen.

Before trusting your work and personal information to a tertiary service provider, make sure to verify all his claims prior to handing over any remuneration. It is hard to trace people online. Hard, but not impossible. Especially for those with the right resources.

If you are Maltese and suspect you are a victim of cybercrime, make sure to contact the Cyber Crime Unit within the Malta Police Force – https://pulizija.gov.mt/en/police-force/police-sections/Pages/Cyber-Crime-Unit.aspx

Each and every country has its own relevant Cybercrime Authority or Unit which deals with enforcing Cyber Security Laws. For example, if you are a US citizen, you can file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at http://www.ic3.gov, and if you are a citizen of Kenya, you can talk to the Cyber Crime Unit within the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and send an email to director@cid.go.ke . All the information relating to where you can find help, wherever you are, is on Google.

Ironically, the same tool which can be used to scam you – the internet – is also the tool which can help you resolve such illegalities. But then of course, tools are neither good nor bad, it is the individual who uses them for nefarious means, who is at fault.

So, inform yourself and stay sharp! Don’t let yourself be used.

Am I being Sexually Harassed?

Where is the line between ‘just a bit of a joke’ and sexual harassment? When are we allowed to finally admit that something is making us feel uncomfortable, or that we feel threatened, without appearing ‘party-poopers’ or ‘milksops’ who do not know ‘how to take a joke’?

Seriously, can someone explain it to me please?

Yesterday, something happened at the office, which made me feel quite uncomfortable and which I did not like one bit. Someone behaved quite inappropriately towards me and the way he talked was also vulgar and out of place. This person works in my same department, however I rarely see him (thankfully), as he is in another building. He is also married and knows I have a partner whom I have a home with. Moreover, his wife herself also works in our same department too! (In a third building). Could this make his flirting and overt sexual advances any more inappropriate!??

Anyways, after this episode, I talked to my director and she kind of said it was quite out of place, but to take no notice of it. Fine. This morning, at 7.30am (I was still half asleep), the same guy came over to my office, he closed the door after him, came right up in my face, and tried to kiss me. Now, how’s that for ‘a joke’?

I was quite firm at that point and even raised my voice a bit, yet he went out slowly after I had signed for something, and continued to talk to me with a weird smile on his face, as though nothing untoward had happened… wow wtf. Is it just me? Am I a stick in the mud? Was it just a joke or does this guy seriously think I would have kissed him??

And before someone points any fingers, no I was not wearing anything skimpy or revealing – NOT THAT THAT GIVES ANYONE THE RIGHT TO TRY TO FEEL ME UP!

Now I’m feeling really uncomfortable. Somewhere where I generally spend 6-9 hours of my time every day no longer feels safe, and this is totally unfair. I don’t want to escalate it because first of all, this guy knows ‘people’ and wont get fired or moved for sure, and secondly because if I said anything, I would be the one appearing in a bad light, because I would be a ‘bitch’ who didn’t know how to ‘take a joke’…

Heh… I just hope this guy does’nt come over to our building again and that I won’t see him again any time soon…