‘Question everything,’ MSP officials on Safer Internet Day

Maryland – Safer Internet Days is a day internationally recognized as a way to raise awareness for initiatives meant to educate people about best practices to combat cyberbullying, human trafficking and online risks.

Investigators from the Maryland State Police Computer Crimes Unit are raising awareness for Safer Internet Day by encouraging Maryland residents to be aware of best practices in order to monitor online information and void scams and crimes. According to MSP, seniors and children are especially vulnerable to online criminal activity.

Joe Dugan, an internet safety specialist with the Maryland State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force said it is imperative to have kids be away from digital devices and establish parental controls.

“Get those good practices started early, no devices in the bedroom, so certainly no device devices in the bathroom,” he said. “I’d like to see devices charged in the parents room at night. Obviously you want to get some sort of parental control so you can monitor your child while they’re online.”

Dugan also said seniors are particularly vulnerable to online scams. He said email scams are the most common way hackers gain access to sensitive information.

“Question everything,” he said in reference to urgent email or text communications from government agencies or communications that initially look legitimate. “A lot of these interactions, they want you to react quickly. That’s a big clue right there that, hey, something’s not quite right.”

Dugan also said he recommends parents or those caring for seniors to speak with their family members about keeping sensitive information off social media. He said that anything posted on social media, even private accounts should not be regarded as completely safe from being made public. He said in order for the internet to be safer, people need to keep the mindset that everything we post online is permanent and public.