Note: While there is no indication that 13-year-old Jayme Closs is in Oregon, the FBI is pushing this information out across the country with the thought that she could be anywhere at this time. The FBI is requesting that local media publicize her missing poster and related information and that the public post this information on their own social media platforms.

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On Monday, October 15, 2018, at 12:53 AM, a 911 call was received from Barron, Wisconsin. Upon arrival, law enforcement officials found two adults deceased, and their 13-year-old daughter, Jayme Closs, missing. Closs is now considered endangered. If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Jayme Closs, or if you have had contact with Closs, please contact the Wisconsin Department of Justice Child Abduction Response Team tipline at 1-855-744-3879. You may also contact your local FBI office.

TT - Payroll Phishing Scams - GRAPHIC

Welcome to the Oregon FBI’s Tech Tuesday segment. This week: Building a digital defense against payroll phishing scams.

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center is out with a new warning about fraudsters who are targeting your paycheck via direct deposit. Any worker can be affected by this scam – but the industries getting hit the hardest include education, healthcare and commercial airway transportation.

Here’s what happens: the bad guy uses your work login info to get into your employer’s HR system to replace your direct deposit information with his own.

It starts when an employee receives an email that looks just familiar enough that he doesn’t question it too much. The email includes a link or web address that the user clicks on. Once he clicks, he will be directed to a fraudulent site or portal where the victim will be asked to enter his work credentials to confirm his identity. The bad guys use that login ID and password to change the employee’s direct deposit information in the company’s files. Often, the fraudsters even change other account settings in the system, preventing the victim from receiving an email warning that changes have been made to his account.  

Here’s how employees can avoid being scammed:

• Make sure you verify with your employer that a suspicious email is valid. Send it to your office’s HR or IT departments for confirmation.
• Keep an eye out for any misspelled words, odd phrasing and poor grammar. These could be indications that the email is coming from elsewhere in the world.
• If the email includes any links to web pages, hover your mouse over the link and confirm that the URL is exactly the same as that used by the payroll company. Don’t click if you are not 100% sure.

Here are some steps that businesses can take to protect their employees:

• Teach your employees what a phishing scam is and how to avoid it.
• Require that login credentials used for payroll purposes differ from those used for other purposes, such as employee surveys.
• Use two-factor authentication on sensitive systems and information.
• Create protocols that require additional scrutiny to banking changes that appear to be requested by employees.

Iin the end, a little extra hassle in the short term may prevent a big headache in the long run. As always, if you have been victimized by a cyber fraud, be sure to report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov or call your local FBI office.

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Tech Tuesday Graphic

Welcome to the Oregon FBI’s Tech Tuesday segment. This week: building a digital defense against hoax threats.

Both schools and police agencies throughout Oregon and across the country are trying to manage the increasing number of threats that get shared, called in or posted online each day. Once school officials and officers learn of these threats, it can take quite a bit of money and time to identify the sender, investigate the situation and mitigate any concerns. Communities can’t ignore the threats, meaning that in the end your kids end up losing time in the classroom, and already thin budgets face extra stress from the expense.

The posted warnings often include vows of potential mass shootings, bombings, or other violent attacks. Sometimes the threats are real – but many times, students or bystanders are instigating a particular incident for other reasons. Perhaps they feel they have suffered an injustice. Or they want attention. Or they just get a thrill out of the fear that such threats create.

The FBI has launched a public awareness campaign called #ThinkBeforeYouPost to help address this growing problem. The goal is to educate those who are considering posting hoax threats as to the severe consequences they could face. When an investigation concludes that there was a false or hoax threat made to a school or other public place, the person posting the threat could face up to five years in federal prison. State charges are also possible.

Hoax posters may think that they can make their threats anonymously via social media, gaming sites or online forums. They should know that the FBI and its law enforcement partners follow up on every tip received from the public, and we analyze and investigate all threats to determine both their origin and their credibility. Federal, state and local law enforcement work together, using a full range of tools to mitigate those threats. Early intervention can prevent a situation from escalating – allowing law enforcement to identify, assess and manage the threat.

In many cases, it is difficult to know immediately whether a threat is real or a hoax. We ask that the public continue to contact law enforcement to report any potential threats or suspicious activity. If there is an immediate risk to you or others, call 911. In Oregon, many schools also participate in the Safe Oregon program which allows students to report suspected threats privately through email, a mobile app, phone calls, texts and online web portals. Other options include contacting your local police department, submitting a written tip to the FBI at tips.FBI.gov or calling your local FBI office. In Oregon, the FBI can be reached 24 hours a day at (503) 224-4181.

Remember – hoax threats are not a joke, so #ThinkBeforeYouPost.

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TT - Cyber predators for parents - October 2, 2018 - graphic

Welcome to the Oregon FBI’s Tech Tuesday segment. This week: building a digital defense against cyber predators and privacy violators targeting your kids.

Last week, we talked about the FBI’s Safe Online Surfing program designed for kids in grades three through eight. The program teaches them good online etiquette, how to stay safe on social media and more.

This week, we turn to the parents. We – as parents – know we are supposed to watch over our children’s virtual lives, but the vigilance required and the rapidly changing nature of technology can make that seem like an impossible task.

Your best bet is to work WITH your child. Talk about the potential dangers kids face these days, the hard decisions they may have to make when faced with difficult choices online and your family’s expectations as to appropriate behavior.

To that end, we are going to offer you some easy starter tasks to get you going:

• Together, check your child’s phone and computer to identify which apps they have loaded and what programs they are using. Work with the child to set the privacy settings on each of these platforms, games, and chat programs to the highest, most restrictive level. Because these privacy settings seem to change frequently, it is a good idea to do an online search to receive specific instructions on how best to manage these settings for any particular app. Your goal is to restrict who can see your child’s profile and how much private info that person can see. You also want to limit an outsider’s ability to be notified when your child is online.
• Talk about what a safe profile includes. Instead of uploading a profile photo of your child, suggest he uses a picture of his favorite pet or game character. Never post a full name – partial names or initials are a better bet. Don’t give out dates of birth, school info or details about sports teams, hobbies and the like.
• For new users, create a safe screen name. Avoid using your real name, if you can … as well as anything that identifies your age, gender and geographic location. Obviously off limits: anything that is sexually provocative (or could be seen that way by others).
• Make sure you know who your child’s virtual friends are, and how often they are communicating. Are they talking by text? Video chat? Through gaming sites? Teach them to deny friend requests from people who are not face-to-face friends as well.
• Teach your kids that what they post online is forever. It can be very easy to share hurtful comments and personal pictures with your BFF or new boyfriend… but actions taken out of temporary teenage angst can have lifelong impacts. Colleges and employers are diligently digging up old posts to find out what kind of person you are. In many cases they can find posts you thought you deleted. Do you really want them to see that hateful thing you said or did in middle school? And, that embarrassing photo you thought you were only sending to one person? The whole school saw it in a matter of minutes.
• Finally, teach your kids to trust their instincts. If they have a sense that something is not quite right, they feel threatened or they see something that is inappropriate – they need to know that they can come talk to you. Work with your school, local police or the social media provider to report concerns. Most will have procedures in place for you to report abusive or inappropriate behavior.

As always, if you have been victimized by a cyber fraud, be sure to report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov or call your local FBI office.

TT - SOS - September 25, 2018 - graphic

Welcome to the Oregon FBI’s Tech Tuesday segment. This week: building a digital defense to keep our kids safe while they surf online.

Your kids are starting to settle back into the school routine, and, as they do, many of them are carrying phones with them to class. They are also spending more and more time online for legitimate reasons – whether it is for typing exercises, research for a speech or practicing math. While technology is an awesome tool for educators, there are steps that you can take to set your child up to be both successful and safe online.

To that end, the FBI has developed a computer literacy program called “Safe Online Surfing” or “SOS”. Teachers and administrators can utilize this program in the school setting – or parents can use it one-on-one with their children at home. The Safe Online Surfing program includes age-specific materials for grades three through eight, and it is now also available in Spanish. This program is completely free for you to use.

SOS is a series of grade-appropriate online games that allow your child to have fun while learning some important lessons. The student will explore what good online etiquette looks like, how to manage cyber bullies, and how good passwords and double authentication help keep them safe. They will learn about what they should do before downloading that new app or game onto their phone – and how to screen friend requests in a responsible way. And, they will also be able to investigate the dangers of plagiarism and privacy violations.

Here are some helpful tips for parents, as well:

• Talk to your kids about what kinds of information, photos and videos are appropriate to share – and what’s not. Remind them that even sending one picture to a friend can lead to an entire school seeing what might be a child’s most embarrassing moment.
• Teach your kids how to limit the information they put online. They shouldn’t be posting their full name, date of birth and school information on social media platforms or give it to third party vendors.
• Train your kids that free software, apps and downloads may sound great – but in some cases they can be illegal. In other cases, you are opening up your phone and computer to potential malware attacks.

If you are a parent or educator interested in learning more about the Safe Online Surfing program – go to sos.fbi.gov.

As always, if you have been victimized by a cyber fraud, be sure to report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov or call your local FBI office.

Lt.Abrahamson3

Lieutenant David Abrahamson, Portland Police Bureau, recently completed one of the toughest challenges available to local law enforcement officers: the FBI National Academy. In mid-September, Lt. Abrahamson and two other Oregon law enforcement officers completed a ten-week training session at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

There is a highly competitive process local law enforcement officers must go through to be selected for this honor. That process includes a nomination by a supervisor; interviews with the candidate and co-workers to determine leadership skills and abilities; a background check; a determination of physical fitness; and the support of former National Academy graduates within the candidate's organization.

"Only a few law enforcement officers from Oregon have the opportunity to attend the National Academy each year," said Renn Cannon, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Oregon. "The Academy gives them the chance to share best practices and explore many facets of law enforcement leadership with others from across the country and the world."

Lt. Abrahamson started his law enforcement career with the Portland Police Bureau more than 18 years ago and considers it a privilege to serve the community that he has lived in since his youth. In 2000, he began his career as an officer with Patrol Operations in the Northeast Precinct. Four years later he transferred to the Drugs and Vice Division and was part of the Regional Organized Crime Narcotics Task Force. He was promoted to Sergeant in 2011 and moved to the East Precinct where he worked in Patrol Operations, on Rapid Response Team and on the Major Crash Team. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 2017 and now serves in the Detective Division.

“Lt. Abrahamson has been a committed member of the Portland Police Bureau throughout his career, and I’m certain he applied the same dedication to his time at the FBI National Academy,” said Portland Police Chief Danielle Outlaw. “We are looking forward to him returning to the Police Bureau in our investigations branch and apply the leadership knowledge and experience he has gained.”

During the ten weeks of training, local executive-level law enforcement officers spend most of their time in the classroom. Lt. Abrahamson’s National Academy classes included: Essentials for Law Enforcement Leaders; Contemporary Issues in Law Enforcement; Emotional Intelligence; Leading At-Risk Employees; Approaches to Counterterrorism; and Fitness in Law Enforcement. The program allows participants the opportunity to earn college credits through the University of Virginia for some of those studies. In addition to the classroom work, participants have physical training courses and activities.

Each year, the FBI sponsors four sessions of the National Academy. Each session includes about 220 local law enforcement officers from around the United States and around the world. While in the academy, the officers and deputies live in a dorm-like setting. The FBI does not charge U.S. students for tuition, books, equipment, meals, lodging or travel to and from their home.

William Gregory Douglas, age 35, of Cave Junction, Oregon, is tentatively set to make his initial appearance before a federal magistrate judge on Monday, September 24, 2018, on charges that he threatened employees of YouTube. FBI Agents arrested Douglas outside a convenience store in Cave Junction on Thursday, September 20, 2018, without incident. 

According to the criminal complaint filed in this case, Douglas started making threats online on August 23, 2018, using the alias "LiamXmaiLRevolutionX". The criminal complaint alleges that Douglas posted a series of tweets that included language such as "I would kill the 100 YouTube employees," "you want a bigger mass casualty aka shooting let's see what I can do," and "return my channel you low life Sholes before someone else comes and shoots more of your employees." On September 17, 2018, LiamXmaiLRevolutionX posted a message to @SusanWojcicki: “Susan I'm coming for you today #pray." Susan Wojcicki is the CEO of YouTube.

The complaint also details three videos in which the subject identifies himself as William Douglas. In those videos, he “provided long rants about the ‘Deep State’ and stated he has been ‘shadow-banned’ from YouTube, which he described as a government operation.” In one video, “he stated he has to go to Mountain View to ‘visit’ people at YouTube.” Approximately 700 people work at the YouTube premises in Mountain View, California.

Douglas faces charges of Cyberstalking and Transmission of Threats in Interstate Commerce to Injure Another.

A criminal complaint is only an accusation of a crime, and all defendants should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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