Rose State College Hosts Holiday Scam Protection Forum Published December 9, 2019

Today, Rose State College partnered with the Midwest City Police Department to host a free Holiday Scam Protection Forum which informed the public on how to stay safe from cyber crimes during the holidays at Rose State’s Community Learning Center. 

As the holiday season approaches, many types of cyber crimes and social engineering scams typically increase, affecting millions of citizens and creating frustration and hardships. To combat this issue, Rose State College Cyber Security Program Professor Brett Weber and Midwest City Police Department Detective Sgt. Kyle Crusoe presented ways to stay safe from fraud to local community residents who attended the forum.

“This is an important time of year for everybody,” said Crusoe. “But with Christmas comes evil. There are people out there who prey on our families, our loved ones and our senior citizens. My goal is to educate the public about some of the things that go on out there in the streets so that you do not become the victim of identity theft, fraud and scams.” 

Crusoe and Weber presented cyber security tips and best practices, often illustrating their advice with memorable anecdotes to drive home their points. 

“Passwords are like toothbrushes,” said Weber. “You should never share them, and you should change them often.”

Other tips included checking credit card statements to ensure charges are accurate, examining gas pumps for skimmers that can steal credit card information and avoiding suspicious links and unsecured websites. 

To learn more about Rose State’s cyber security classes, please visit https://www.trainingatrose.com/training/cyber-security/ and find out how you can better protect yourself from cyber crime.