E-mail crime increases; users need protection

Editor's Note: This is the first in a two-part series exploring high-technology crimes. This story addresses crimes through E-mail.

By JAMES KWASNIK
Collegian Staff Writer

Students may now have to better protect themselves against the road hazards of E-mail harassment and forgery.

"Given time, more people will resort to that kind of thing as the technology is more available," said Mark Stringer, a University Police Services officer.

University police have encountered a few cases of forged E-mail accounts and harassing messages, Stringer said.

People have harassed various groups for a specific religion, race or sexual preference, said Donald Suit, director of the Office of Judicial Affairs.

And at other universities, lewd or pornographic material was sent over E-mail, raising freedom of speech questions for E-mail users, Suit said.

"The original purpose of E-mail and the internet was to provide an informational base, not a way for people to harass others," Suit said.

Although many E-mail messages are generally harmless, two students said they received harassing messages.

Lisa Moskalski , a University student, said a student at another university sent her obscene pictures through E-mail.

Moskalski said she reported this incident to the Center for Academic Computing (CAC). CAC then sent the person who harassed her a warning and monitored him for any other instances of harassment.

Kathy Vancko (senior-psychology) said she received life-threatening messages from an ex-boyfriend.

Vancko's ex-boyfriend continually harassed her after they broke up and still contacted her after a judge placed a restraining order on him, she said.

But several ways exist to prevent this technological harassment.

Brian Panulla (senior-non-degree), a student consultant for CAC, said students can go to Shields Building and remove their names from general information services, such as the student directory and E-mail address lists.

Moskalski, who said she was also stalked on campus, decided to take this route in order to prevent the stalker from locating her.

"I think I did the right thing by taking my name off the list," Moskalski said, adding that she thinks the stalker will have a harder time locating her if he decides to do it again.

Although this procedure is somewhat drastic, it allows students only to give their E-mail addresses to selected people, Panulla said.

Carl Knowlton, manager of lab and classroom support at CAC, presented a less drastic method. He said a tracking mechanism can inform the receiver of who sent the message.

But this tracking mechanism may not always alleviate the problem.

"There is potential for people to subvert this process," Knowlton said.

Forging E-mail accounts can allow harassers to use other students' E-mail account rather than their own.

Stringer said many students are not careful enough with their passwords and identification numbers. A person can look over another student's shoulder and memorize the password, he said.

Knowlton compared an E-mail password to a MAC card. If a student gives a friend the password, there is no way to stop that friend from using the E-mail account, he said.

But ways to prevent this problem are also available.

The University is working on a way to cut down on anonymity. They will require people to authenticate who they are before using their E-mail accounts, Stringer said.

Knowlton said students can take two steps to prevent E-mail forgery.

One way to solve this problem is to exhibit good citizenship from the start, he said. Knowlton also suggested that students choose a password containing eight numeric and alphabetic digits to make it harder for someone to find out what a victim's password is.

"Don't give your password out and don't write it down. Memorize it," Stringer said.

Although these E-mail problems exist, students may be relieved to know that harassment through E-mail is punishable by the University.

Harassment can lead to suspension for a semester or two. If students repeat an incident, they can be expelled, said Barbara Copland, associate director of Judicial Affairs.

Suit said a student can also be placed on probation, which can end any time from the conclusion of the same semester to graduation, depending on the seriousness of the crime.

Other sanctions include receiving a disciplinary warning, being suspended, being dismissed or being expelled. A student may also have to pay monetary damages, Suit said.