Twelve Tips to Avoiding Cyber Crime this Holiday Season by Retired FBI Special Agent Scott E. Augenbaum

Scott Augenbaum
Published On November 29, 2021
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By: Scott Augenbaum, Retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent and Keynote Speaker and Author: “The Secret to Cyber Security, A Simple Plan to Protect Your Family & Business from Cyber Crime”
I joined the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) in 1988 as a support employee. In 1994, I became a Special Agent where my focus was on domestic terrorism, white-collar and hate crimes as well in computer crime investigations. From 2003 to 2018 I was assigned to handle complex CyberCrime investigations in Washington D.C and Nashville, TN.
During my decades I interacted with over one thousand victims of cybercrime, each of which affected me personally, and learned that one of the most common elements about Cyber Crime was that many good, smart people became unwitting victims.Since retiring from the FBI in early 2018, I offer Cyber protection strategies to individuals, groups and businesses through my book and at meetings. By sharing my life’s journey in the CyberCrime Field, I want everyone to acknowledge that there is a problem and I try to make it simple by breaking things down to what I call the “Four Truths About Cyber Security.”
Truth One – Nobody expects to be a victim.
Truth Two – Once the Cyber Criminals steal your money, the chances of a full recovery are slim to none. If the money is out of your bank account or already converted into gift cards, neither the bank nor the credit card company are responsible for helping get the money back.
Truth Three – The chances of law enforcement bringing Cyber Criminals to justice is challenging at best. Even with digital clues, such as emails, social media accounts and 1-800 numbers, tracing the crime back to the actual perpetrator is practically impossible. And if you think that following the money trail is a viable strategy for recovery, more times than not you are led to foreign bank accounts that are subject to rules, regulations and treaties that can result in it taking years to access bank records. By that time, the criminals will be long gone.
Truth Four – Most Cyber Crime incidents could have been prevented without spending money on products, services or even needing a technical background. All that is needed is empowering the end user with a couple of key pieces of information and no-cost preventive action plans.