Valley City (CSi)  Tuesday, February 26, at 7 PM at the Barnes County Museum, C.J. Kotta, Director of Network Services/IT Security Officer at Valley City State University will speak on the various electronic methods criminals use in attempts to steal people’s personal information and money.  CJ has been been doing information technology work for twenty years, focusing on networking and security. In his presentation he will provide several examples of the techniques used, including different phishing methods, email scams and caller ID spoofing. According to the American Association of Retired People, throughout the country, frauds involving prizes, sweepstakes and lotteries are a persistent problem and according to the Federal Trade Commission, in 2017 there were 142,870 reports of them, when losses climbed to $95 million!

 

In addition, Sgt. Nick Horner of the Valley City Police Department will share some of the experiences the VCPD is experiencing in the area of scamming.

Dr. Emily Fenster of the Department of Social Science at VCSU will moderate the evening’s presentations and discussion.