In the United States, the Internet Crime Complaint Center serves as a critical component in the FBI’s efforts to combat cybercrime. The center’s website provides educational resources to help individuals and businesses protect themselves from cyberthreats and also allows them to report their victimization by submitting complaints related to internet crimes. The Internet Crime Complaint Center also publishes annual reports summarizing the current state of internet crime, trends and notable cases.
However, the information and resources, including the reporting form, posted on the center’s website are only available in English. This excludes a substantial number of internet users and victims of cybercrime: people with limited English proficiency. In addition to leaving out many people who are more vulnerable to cyberthreats, one consequence is that the Internet Crime Complaint Center’s annual Internet Crime Reports are incomplete and inaccurate.
The lack of information and resources on cybersecurity and internet safety in languages other than English on the Internet Crime Complaint Center website further widens the “security gap,” a divide that has emerged between those who can manage and mitigate potential cybersecurity threats and those who cannot. Because there isn’t an appropriate reporting mechanism and structure for people with limited English proficiency to report their victimization, data and statistics on cyber victimization within this population are severely limited.
This U.S. Justice Department video explains why government agencies must provide meaningful access to services to people with limited English proficiency.
Cybercrime and prevention
I’m a criminologist. My colleagues and I conducted focus groups with a sample of adult internet users with limited English proficiency to examine their experiences with nine forms of cybercrime and explore their knowledge of cybersecurity. The study is slated to be published in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Cybersecurity Intelligence and Cybercrime.
We recruited 18 Spanish- and six Vietnamese-speaking internet users for the study based on the evidence that limited English proficiency individuals in the U.S. tend to be Latino or Asian, and among the Asian ethnic groups Vietnamese Americans are the least proficient in English.
We asked participants whether they had encountered any of the following during the previous 12 months:
They received a phishing email, which is a deceptive message with the intent of tricking them into divulging sensitive information such as login credentials, personal details or financial information.
Their computer was infected with a computer virus.
They received online harassment; for example, a message from someone that threatened, insulted or harassed them.
They were the victim of an online scam; for example, they sent money to an individual or…