While fishing in salt water and as the boat would putt-putt along, we would troll for fish with different baits to determine the preference of the fish. This is likened to what cyber predators do to hook or ensnare unsuspected victims in cyber space. FBI statistics have shown that in any given day, there are at least 500,000 online predators on the prowl to gain advantage of you or more vulnerably, your children. My guest this week, a clinical psychologist in New York City has created the concept of iPredator and has devoted his spare time to inform and educate the public to this growing cyber metastasizing cancer. He offers individuals free educational and advisement services regarding internet predation, and online criminal psychology. His website covers and offers visitors an unbelievable amount of knowledge, education in how to protect ourselves from cyber-attacks and advisory services on internet security, hazards of the internet, and the nefarious Cybercriminal Psychology. Incidentally, he shared his personal story of cyber-attack, and his experience was horrendous!
"We have all have been touched in one or another by a predator", he said. And I personally tend to agree. How many times have you have received an email from a faraway place like Nigeria? Several years ago, I called the local FBI office and inquired about this, and they informed me that they have a full filing cabinet of these complaints. We are living in an unprecedented information age, and it is getting worse, he said. As he was speaking to me, I could not help but wonder how vulnerable many were during the last two-and-half years of being sequestered at home because of the pandemic. I asked about that, and he indicated that we have not seen the entire repercussions of it yet in terms of mental health of which paves the way to vulnerability, and this is the fodder or the bait for the cyber predator, as it were. What is so disconcerting to me, are the children that have not developed the wherewithal to protect themselves from bullying, extortion, in other words, "I’ll tell your parents if you don't do what I tell you, “And character defamation by their peers. My guest is advocating that there be compulsory education regarding the internet from kindergarten through twelve grades. Personally, it is a great idea, however, the principal responsibility must belong to the parents. Ever wondered, how easy is it for someone to gain sensitive information from you? Here is one example. Think of this for a moment. How often are you asked to identify yourself by your last four digits of your social security card? Then, they proceed to say, "sorry but I have another that matches your four digits. Please provide me the previous two digits." Do you know you just gave them your entire nine social security number? How is that? you may ask. All they must do is find out where you are originally from because the federal government assigns you the first three digits based on where you come from. There so many things we need to be aware of when using our electronic devices. Did you know that Google collects everything on you when you do a search of any kind? And this collection of information can be used against you by way of advertisement. Did you know that you could be spied upon or listened to by your smart tv not to mention by Alexa? Make sure that feature is turned off. In fact, I am seriously considering inviting a professional guest to discuss this field of internet privacy information for our protection. What has happened to the social environment in which we live in? It is the signs of the times! I remember, when I was a boy, my mama could not keep me inside the house. She would say, "it's time to get inside the house, getting late!" Now, moms are saying, "it's time to get outside the house, it's getting late!" I am reminded what Albert Einstein, said, "imagination is more important than knowledge." The imagination of children in having fun is diminishing, and I am totally convinced the excessive use of the electronic device is the culprit.
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