UMUC Instructor Becomes Cyber-Crime Expert—the Hard Way

Jayne Hitchcock

By Wil McLean
Special to FYI Online

If UMUC needs a weapon in the war on cyber-crime, it can certainly find one in online teaching assistant and nationally recognized cyber-crime expert Jayne Hitchcock. Hitchcock had no intention of becoming an expert—until she was, herself, victimized.

It started in 1996 when Hitchcock responded to an advertisement posted by a literary agency. After dialoging with the agency, she sent in a book proposal and promptly received a $75 bill for a reading fee. Apparently the fictitious agency had been charging unsuspecting consumers bogus fees.

The interaction quickly turned sinister, with Hitchcock being stalked by the "literary firm." In December 1996, Hitchcock and UMUC received an "e-mail bomb," an attempt to render an e-mail account useless by overloading it with messages. The agency then tried to obtain Hitchcock's new, unpublished phone number by contacting UMUC by mail, claiming to be interested in hiring Hitchcock but failing to provide information beyond a company name in the form of an acronym. UMUC immediately contacted Hitchcock and the proper authorities.

The harassment continued, culminating in a death threat to Hitchcock's attorney in the case against the literary agency, which continues to this day. But as a result of her frightening experience, Hitchcock is now busy helping state governments pass laws that punish cyber-criminals. She volunteers her expertise on cyber-crimes cases handled by police departments nationwide as well as by the U.S. Department of Justice. As president of WHO@ (Working to Halt Online Abuse), Hitchcock travels nationwide to speak about cyber-crime to victims and law enforcement personnel.

Hitchcock's technical advice has appeared in TIME magazine, Ladies Home Journal, Glamour, and Family Circle's The Web Made Easy, as well as in several articles in the L.A. Times, Boston Globe, and the Associated Press. She has appeared on 48 Hours, Inside Edition, Good Morning America, Unsolved Mysteries, and the Montel Williams Show.

Hitchcock is also the author of several books, ranging from children's books to travel guides. Her latest book, Net Crimes and Misdemeanors: Outmaneuvering the Spammers, Swindlers, and Stalkers Who Are Targeting You Online, will be available in summer 2002. The book is already receiving positive reviews.

"It's definitely geared for the average consumer," Hitchcock said, "but is not so simple that a net-savvy person won't enjoy it. It covers just about any type of online crime that could happen to you and what to do to protect yourself. You'll find coverage of everything from online shopping to auction scams, PGP/encryption, harassment and stalking, spam, and much more," she said.

Net Crimes and Misdemeanors features UMUC in a chapter about universities who are aggressively addressing online crime, Hitchcock said.

Hitchcock has been a teaching assistant for UMUC since 1996, and has taught online since 1998. She said she loves the flexibility of UMUC's online program—she now lives in Maine—and UMUC, in turn, benefits from Hitchcock's experience.

"They now have the knowledge to handle any online harassment or stalking cases that may happen," Hitchcock said. "Because of my case they are ready for just about anything."

She hopes to soon have others equally prepared.

"As soon as I get the last eight states to pass online harassment/stalking laws, then I'll begin working with the states and federally to protect privacy rights online, such as the Web sites that sell private information to anyone who pays," she said.

For more information about Hitchcock's books and her adventures with cyber-crime, visit www.jahitchcock.com.