Internet safety and striking back at telemarketers

It’s a scary time to be a parent. Every week, we see news releases about human trafficking and child abuse made possible by the internet.

It’s also a scary time to have elderly parents, the type of folks robbed of lifetime scammers via phone or social media.

While we’re at it, people of any age need to be constantly the guard against criminals willing go to any length to turn a buck or a thousand.

Tuesday was Safer Internet Day, and the Nebraska State Patrol wanted to remind us to remain vigilant.

“We can all work together to make the internet safer,” said Lt. Monty Lovelace, Commander of NSP Tech Crimes. “One major piece of the effort is making sure that parents, kids, teachers, and others know that there are resources out there to help keep them safe in their online activity.”

NSP encouraged all internet users to keep safety in mind during time online. The effort can be as simple as starting a conversation about how kids use technology.

“Opening that dialogue with your child can be a major factor in keeping them safe online,” said Lt. Lovelace. “Parents should also understand and utilize the parental control features built into most devices, set clear rules for online activity, and keep the conversation open so you know what your kids are doing online.”

Resources are available at the Safer Internet Day website, https://saferinternetday.us/ .

Safer Internet Day started in 2004 and has grown into a worldwide effort.

The message is especially timely as we prepare to do our taxes, many of us entirely online.

Remember, the IRS will never call you requesting bank information or other personal data.

While we’re on the subject of callers, some enterprising individuals are turning the tables on those annoying robocalls.

Remember the National Do Not Call Registry? Whatever happened to “add me to your do-not-call list” statement?

Well, it’s still around, thanks to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, but the federal government only rarely uses is to target harassing telemarketers — who make some 20,000 calls a second, according to one source.

However, the law also allows private citizens to file lawsuits against telemarketers.

One of those private citizens, Adam Ward, figures he made more than $60,000 this year suing the companies making the calls.

It hasn’t been easy, and it takes some diligence, he said. “You gotta be willing to do some online research and really kind of dig in.

One entrepreneur, who sells a $47 “turn robocalls into cash” kit explains the process.

Instead of hanging up, like most of us do, you have to take the call and get them to give you some information, the type of which varies on the type of calls you’re getting, who is calling and when they call.

You then send demand letters to the companies calling you, letting them know that they are breaking the law.

Do it often enough with the right callers, and you may just get a few settlements.

If you don’t mind spending the time, it may just pay off.