Tyler Cohen Wood - Catching the Catfishers: Disarm the Online Pretenders, Predators, and Perpetrators Who Are Out to Ruin Your Life

Praise for Catching the Catfishers

If you have ever simply gone online, perhaps used social media or even just taken a picture with your smart phone, you likely have no idea about the obvious digital trail you have willingly left behind that others can follow to potentially use against you. Many different industries, from insurance and credit card companies, to employers, schools, and law enforcement already use this data to your disadvantage. And then there are the online bullies and predators preying on your kids. This is a truly remarkable must-read book. Finally, we have a clear and honest, behind-the-scenes guide for anyone who cares to protect the online personal and professional reputations of themselves and their children. The information in Catching the Catfishers is nothing short of astounding. Tyler Cohen Wood is a cyber security expert with Department of Defense credentials and is willing to share what she has learned. Thankfully her style is direct, understandable, and down-to-earth. One warning: At first you may be a little shocked or frightened as you read this book (frankly, you should be), but Ms. Wood offers many sound and practical steps you can take to protect yourself and your family. This book covers it all. We are even told how experts can tell when someone we are communicating with online is trying to lie and deceive us. Its a new world, and this manual should be in every home.

Dr. Dean Edell, host, Dr. Dean Edell Show, author of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Healthiness, and winner of many awards such as a national Emmy

Catching
the
Catfishers

Catching
the
Catfishers

Disarm the Online Pretenders,
Predators, and Perpetrators
Who Are Out to Ruin Your Life

Tyler Cohen Wood

Copyright 2014 by Tyler Cohen Wood

All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copyright Conventions. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without written permission from the publisher, The Career Press.

CATCHING THE CATFISHERS
EDITED BY KIRSTEN DALLEY
TYPESET BY GINA SCHENCK
Cover design by Rob Johnson
Printed in the U.S.A.

To order this title, please call toll-free 1-800-CAREER-1 (NJ and Canada: 201-848-0310) to order using VISA or MasterCard, or for further information on books from Career Press.

The Career Press, Inc.
220 West Parkway, Unit 12
Pompton Plains, NJ 07444
www.careerpress.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Wood, Tyler Cohen, 1973
Catching the catfishers : disarm the online pretenders, predators, and perpetrators who are out to ruin your life / by Tyler Cohen Wood. -- 1 Edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-60163-307-1 -- ISBN 978-1-60163-485-6 (ebook) 1.
Online identity theft. 2. Online identity theft--Prevention. I. Title.

HV6675.W66 2014
613.602854678--dc23

2013045967

Firstly, Id like to thank Michael and Kirsten and all of Career Press for believing in me and this book.

Id like to thank Donn for his help with all things lawyer; everyone who participated in my polls; AshleyGAGA and Rena Havey for their expertise in blogging; Paul and Sandy and the Woman and my father, for being the most supportive parents and in-laws anyone could ask for; and Courtney, George, Tracy, Brenna, Ryan, Zayne, Lissy, and all my other dear friends who wouldnt let me give up.

Most of all I want to thank my soul mate and husband, Matt, for being my rock and helping to make our dreams come true.

Part I
Understanding the Online Domain

Chapter 1
Controlling Your Online Persona

Chapter 2
A Little Privacy, Please

Chapter 3
Perception Is Everything

Chapter 4
Smarter Social: Building Rapport Online

Chapter 5
Using Social Media for Professional Gain

Chapter 6
Online Dating

Part II
Cyber Judo 101: Protecting Yourself and Your Family
From Predators, Liars, and Bullies

Chapter 7
Keeping Your Child Safe: What You Need to Know

Chapter 8
Hoaxes, Spearfishing, and Fake Websites, Oh My!

Chapter 9
Reading Deception Online

Chapter 10
Catching the Catfishers

All views are my own and do not reflect those of my employing agency or the United States government.

Understanding the Online Domain

Controlling Your
Online Persona

When I first met my coworker Charles (not his real name), it was like kismet. We both cared passionately about what we did for a living and how it affected the law enforcement, federal, and intelligence communities. Both of us were technically proficient and had many years of experience supporting federal law enforcement as digital forensic analysts. We became very close professionally. We collaborated on numerous projects and spent a great deal of time together. I knew that I could count on him for anything, and he knew the same was true about me. To me, Charles was a genuine and caring person who cared passionately about his work. A few months into our friendship and working relationship, however, I began hearing stories from other people who had worked with both of us on separate projects that he was arrogant and not a team player. I dismissed these stories as gossip. I knew Charles. There was no way that the person I knew and had worked closely with for a year was arrogant or rude, or didnt work well with others. They just dont know him, I thought. A year into working with Charles, we became friends on various social media sites. I began to follow his blog and Facebook posts. After just two weeks of following him on social media, I began to see a very different side of Charles. He was extremely condescending in his posts and comments to other people, and put them down, often harshly, with very little provocation. He was arrogant and argumentative over minor things such as predicting the weather. I was completely shocked. I knew Charles. I had worked closely with him for a year. I had a very distinct perception of him, but there he was right in front of me, showing a completely different side of his personality. The person I saw was not at all the person I thought I knew. At first, I thought long and hard about which was the real Charles, but then I realized that it didnt matter. This arrogant online identity completely overshadowed the Charles I thought I knew. Perhaps predictably, our working relationship suffered. I no longer sought him out as an expert, and we eventually went our separate ways.

There is a saying that people tell the truth when they are drunk. The same can often be said for people when it comes to their online presence. Piecing together an online persona, if done correctly, can often yield a much more realistic impression of who a person is, better, even, than spending time getting to know him or her in person. Many (but not all) people tend to be much more honest and open about their innermost thoughts and feelings when they are online. Perhaps this is due to the fact that they feel anonymous and therefore protected behind their computer screens or mobile devices. Regardless of the reason, you will discover how to piece together the real person behind the online identity, as well as how to control the pieces of your own online identity to portray yourself in the best light possible.