From the IRS web site, which provides lots of warnings: “Phishing (as in “fishing for information” and “hooking” victims) is a scam where Internet fraudsters send e-mail messages to trick unsuspecting victims into revealing personal and financial information that can be used to steal the victims’ identity.

Current scams include phony e-mails which claim to come from the IRS and which lure the victims into the scam by telling them that they are due a tax refund.”

Remember: Don’t give out your social security number or financial account numbers over the phone or in reply to an e-mail. Keep in mind that it’s relatively easy to make fake phone calls or e-mail accounts that seem official.

One scam making the rounds this month, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center, involves what purports to be a request from the IRS for your up-to-date information. You’re supposed to download and fill out an attached W-2 form before Feb. 10. But the download unleashes a Trojan horse – software that will cause problems within your computer.

If you’re tired of hearing such warnings, feel free to move on. But many people fall for such schemes.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper in Sydney, Australia, staged a test recently through an Internet security company: People in their 50s were asked on Facebook to become “friends” with a photo of two cats and provide personal information. Many did.

If any young hipsters or computer geeks take this as proof of the gullibility of their parents’ generation, consider this: When Facebook users in their 20s were asked in similar fashion to befriend a rubber duck, nearly half did. No harm done, right? Wrong — many “volunteered some of their most intimate details to both the rubber duck and the cats, including their full date of birth, workplace, email address and location. Some even volunteered full addresses and phone numbers without prompting.”

The British government is so concerned about the public’s online security that it’s planning required lessons on the dangers for all children older than 5.

For information about avoiding e-mail scam, junk mail and unwanted phone calls, see Carole Frey’s Jan. 26 story.

President Barack Obama sends a Twitter post from the Red Cross Disaster Operation Center in Washington, D.C. The White House suggests how to donate safely to help Haiti at www.whitehouse.gov/haitiearthquake_embed. [AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais]

Offers to share in Nigerian fortunes, to name one notorious fraud, used to arrive in mailboxes. Then fax technology helped swindlers cut the cost of reaching their marks. The Internet made it possible to e-mail spam into untold numbers of personal computers for free.

Now there are news reports of dubious pitches for Haiti donations arriving on Blackberrys. As usual, the fraudsters are using technology to stay a step ahead of the law.

In Maryland, the state Attorney General’s Office and the Federal Trade Commission handle consumer complaints about fraudulent spam. Consumers are pressing for more.

“They’ve done a good job,” says Marceline White, executive director of the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition in Baltimore. “A lot of consumers have been helped, but they’ve already been harmed. We want prevention.”

Federal anti-spam law

The federal CAN-Spam Act of 2003 sets boundaries for commercial e-mail, gives people the right to block it and prescribes penalties for violations. Businesses must identify themselves as the source of e-mail and disclose their location. They must give recipients a way to opt out of future e-mail and act on those requests promptly. The FTC can impose fines of up to $16,000 for each e-mail in violation.

Criminal violations are turned over to federal prosecutors, but rarely. Three years ago, a California man was convicted of sending thousands of e-mails that prompted America Online users to send credit card numbers and other personal information. Jeffrey Brett Goodin is serving a six-year prison sentence for that — the first such conviction and possibly still the only one.

The U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland has never received a CAN-Spam Act case.

Do-not-call list renewals

Federal law also controls phone spam, or telemarketing, by sponsoring a do-not-call list that prohibits most unsolicited calls for five years. Consumers can renew their registration for another five years by calling the FTC again at 888-382-1222. A complaint about a caller can be filed on the Do Not Call Web site within 31 days of registering.

The state Attorney General’s Office works to resolve fraud complaints against Maryland companies, but that’s where its jurisdiction ends.

“Maryland actually has pretty good law,” White says. “What’s needed for prevention is widespread public education to compete with the ads.”

Within hours of Haiti’s disastrous earthquake Jan. 12, new Web addresses were being registered to request donations. Two days later, the SANS Institute’s Internet Storm Center in Bethesda was reporting the addition of 400 Internet addresses mentioning earthquake, survivors, help and such. In the aftermath of past disasters, the FBI says, spammers never delivered donations and, instead, collected credit card numbers for use later.

The Maryland Attorney General’s Office followed the FBI warning with a link on its home page to White House advice on making contributions.

“We haven’t received any complaints, but we want to get out in front of it,” says spokeswoman Raquel Guillory. On the office Web site, consumers can find a host of alerts and tips on a variety of issues.

Unending battle

The Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition is pushing for creation of a federal consumer protection agency to provide clear legal guidance on loans and other financial transactions.

State regulators concede the difficulty of staying ahead of hustlers willing to break the spam law.
Twitter, the latest innovation in social networking, already has logged scores of spam complaints, yet the appearance of Twitter spam was news to both the AG’s office and the consumer coalition.

“I’m not surprised, though,” says White. “There are a lot of smart people putting their energy into that. If there’s a new technology, some people will try to exploit it by scamming other people.”

Carol Frey is a freelance writer based in Northern Virginia.

James Green sets up polygraph equipment before testing someone at the Cecil County Sheriff's Office in Elkton, Md. [AP Photo/Cecil Whig, Matthew Given]

By CARL HAMILTON

ELKTON (AP) — Half of the people James Green meets at work are lying to him.

Dealing with dishonest people is all part of a day’s work for Dfc. Green, a polygraph examiner with the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office.

It’s Green’s job to discern if criminal suspects and job applicants are being deceptive during their interviews. Familiar to anyone who’s ever watched a police drama on television, a polygraph exam, or lie detector test, involves wired gauges attached to the subject’s body.

Those gauges provide Green with an array of physiological data, including constant readings for blood pressure, heart rate and breathing.

“When you lie, your sweat glands secrete,” Green said. “Your body’s reactions deviate from the norm” when you’re lying.

‘TV is fake’

However, unlike the polygraph exams administered in most television shows, there isn’t a dramatic spike on the readout whenever a person gives makes a false statement, Green said.

In fact, he works almost exclusively with computers and typically doesn’t access the data until after the interview.

“Everything you see on TV is fake,” Green said. “Just because you see an increase in a rate doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a deception. It’s not as simple as putting your hand in a barrel and it comes out either clean or dirty. You have to look at it in context with all the other data.”

Green said that in real life being a polygraph examiner is somewhat tedious.

“This would be boring to most people, like watching paint dry, but I love it,” he said.

Green became the polygraph examiner for the sheriff’s office in November 2008 after completing 500 hours of training required as part of a three-month course offered by the Maryland Institute of Criminal Justice.

In addition to learning how to operate the polygraph machine, which he calls “the instrument,” Green studied psychology and physiology.

Green said that since starting the job he has conducted about 100 polygraph tests, which involve monitoring a person while they answer questions for 30 to 45 minutes.

About 60 percent of the people he has tested were job applicants for the sheriff’s office or other police agencies in the area. Green asks them standard questions designed to determine if an applicant is qualified to serve as a police officer. Some of the questions are intended to determine whether the applicant has a criminal record or a history of involvement in criminal or immoral activities.

Hours of preparation

The rest of the people tested by Green have been suspects in criminal cases. He said those tests tend to be far more tedious because the questions he asks are tailor-made for each case. As a result, a great deal of research and consultation is required before the suspect is ever hooked up to the polygraph.

“From start to finish, four to five hours is the average,” Green said, referring to the preparation, testing, data analysis and post-test interview that go into each case.

Green said he first consults with the investigators who are seeking to have a suspect tested.
“I may determine that a polygraph is not appropriate at this stage,” he said.

If Green concludes that a polygraph test is warranted, he then studies all available case files before designing questions that apply to that specific case.

“Every case is unique,” Green said.

After studying the files and developing his questions, Green then conducts a pre-test interview.
After conducting the actual exam, Green will review all of the readings and analyze the data. He then conducts a post-test interview that, in part, further explores answers that raised red flags.

“We don’t split hairs over a big lie or a little lie,” he said. “A lie is always the opposite of the truth. The average human lies seven times a day.”

It’s Green’s job, however, to determine if a person has lied to conceal the truth.

Tests can lead to confession

“Sometimes a post-test interview is a post-test interrogation,” he said. “I’ve had them fail the test and then confess and go on to be indicted and convicted.”

A suspect in a criminal case can’t be forced to take a polygraph test.

“I’ve have examinations with an attorney’s wish and against an attorney’s wish,” Green said, adding that suspects sometimes go against the advice of their lawyers.

Results of a polygraph test can’t be introduced as evidence at trial, regardless of whether they help or hurt a defendant, Green said.

A lie detector test can, however, give investigators insight into an account of an event provided by a suspect, Green said.

When used in conjunction with evidence and statements from other people, the polygraph can help investigators determine whether to pursue criminal charges, he said.

“It is just a tool,” Green said.

This camera watches drivers in Baton Rouge, La. [AP photo]

Last week, Melody Simmons detailed statistics for the thousands of speeders caught by state AND Baltimore City cameras; the story mentions that the city is considering adding cameras.

In July and November we looked at cameras used for surveillance beyond the streets, including in Baltimore City and County. Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who’ll become Baltimore’s mayor in two weeks, has been a proponent of this video surveillance.

And cameras have been posted at local intersections to catch red-light runners for years.

What have other states, counties and cities been doing with cameras?

According to USA Today, not only did the trend of installing red-light cameras slow nationwide last year, but three states and three cities banned them (Nevada, New Hampshire, West Virginia and Wisconsin already prohibited them), and others are pushing to get rid of theirs.

But in California, where so many trends are born, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to add speed sensors to red-light cameras at hundreds of intersections to bring in more money.

Here in Maryland, the stated purpose of traffic cameras is safety, but many people believe the cameras exist to generate money from fines while not necessarily saving lives.

A speed gun, a camera and its light have been catching speeders at Walther and Glenmore avenues in Northwest Baltimore for two months. [Photo by Melody Simmons]

“The proof is going to be in the numbers and right now, there is no way to tell,” said David Buck, spokesman for the State Highway Administration, which has sent two mobile speed cameras in SUVs roving to three construction sites on Interstates 95 and 695 since Nov. 16.

Buck said the SHA cameras logged about 8,900 speeding citations between Nov. 16 and Dec. 29 at three sites: I-95 near construction of the Intercounty Connector in Prince George’s County; I-95 near the White Marsh toll road construction site; and construction at I-695 at North Charles Street.

Between Oct. 1 and Nov. 15, there were 8,081 warning citations sent to drivers from those sites, Buck said. But the cameras weren’t operating during heavy snowfall in mid-December and other bad weather, he said.

Fine, but no points

All tickets are a result of two snapshots from the cameras. The tickets carry a $40 fine; no points are levied against a driver’s license, Buck said.

The tickets are mailed to the owner of registered vehicles photographed exceeding the posted speed limit by 12 mph or more after Maryland State Police and Maryland Transportation Authority police check the photos.

Transportation officials began installing the speed cameras in October after the General Assembly passed legislation making them legal in school and construction zones pending support of local government. In 2008, 11 people died in work-zone crashes in Maryland.

Each speed camera site is marked with cautionary signs, and a backup photo is taken for each ticket in case there is a dispute. Drivers may protest the citations in District Court.

The cameras first started shooting pictures Oct. 1, resulting in only warning citations for the first six weeks.

In Baltimore, 26 cameras were set up in school zones on Nov. 2 and have produced 6,238 citations through Jan. 7, said Adrienne Barnes, spokeswoman for the city Department of Transportation. Those citations will net the city $48,200.

“Our first priority is safety and we want people to be mindful of their speed,” Barnes said of the new program, which has raised protests from drivers on local talk radio who criticize it as intrusive.

To that, Barnes said, “If you slow down, you don’t have to worry. Our goal is to change driver behavior like with the red-light cameras.”

City considers more cameras

Barnes said city traffic engineers are researching additional sites to place 20 more cameras, some mobile, in school and construction zones in Baltimore in the upcoming months. The state legislation allows for 52 cameras per jurisdiction.

The city’s most lucrative speed camera site is a school zone at Erdman Avenue and Macon Street in East Baltimore. There, 3,985 speeding citations had been issued between Nov. 2 and Jan. 8, Barnes said. The cameras are turned on from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. in school zones.

Overall, Barnes said, the city didn’t have any expectations about how much revenue the tickets would bring in, although city officials have said they expect to collect an additional $7.1 million from speeding fines this year. Under an agreement with the speed camera operator, Affiliated Computer Services, of Dallas, Baltimore gets 65 percent of the money collected from the tickets, while ACS receives 35 percent.

“We plan to assess the whole program in the spring,” Barnes said.

That’s also the SHA’s plan for speed cameras.

“We had no parameters or bottom line about how well this program would work other than six weeks of warning citations that were issued,” Buck said. “As for now, there is no way to tell if the speed cameras are working because it’s very subjective.”

Melody Simmons is a freelance writer based in Baltimore.

[The Ravens play Saturday night in Indianapolis against Baltimore's former team, the Colts. The Ravens’ next game would be for the AFC championship in either San Diego or northern New Jersey (home of the Jets) on Sunday, Jan. 24. That leads to the Super Bowl, in suburban Miami, on Feb. 7.]

BBB | Greater Maryland warns fans that fraud exists on the secondary ticket market. It offers these tips:

* Buy tickets directly from the team or the venue if possible.

* Or, buy through a legitimate travel agency in the community who has package deals — including a guarantee/refund policy.

* Or, buy from a legitimate ticket exchange. Two Maryland companies, downtowntickets.com and greatseats.com have great rating with the BBB.

* If you buy tickets through an online auction, choose a seller with a long, continuous history of satisfied customers. Try to contact any ticket seller and ask for a response as a test.

* When buying from an individual through an online exchange don’t be lured away from the Web site by the seller. Verify the history of the tickets if possible by requesting a receipt or order description for how and when the tickets were originally purchased.

* Never pay with a cashier’s check or wire money to the seller; you’ll have no way to get your money back if the tickets never arrive. Pay with a credit card or through PayPal.

* Many sellers will include pictures of the tickets with their posts on auction sites or bulletin boards. Study the tickets closely for inaccuracies or alterations, and cross-check the seat assignment with the map on the venue’s Web site before you buy.

The Mayor’s Office (where Sheila Dixon will serve until her resignation takes effect Feb. 4) has declared Jan. 10-16 a Call to Action Week. Activities will include neighborhood Citizens on Patrol walks on Wednesday evening.

Violence isn’t the only danger within the city. Yesterday, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a report that called trespassing or use of all-terrain vehicles at the 68th Street Dump Site to be dangerous.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry found the 150 acres at 68th Street and Pulaski Highway in Rosedale to be contaminated. Also, settling of material at the landfill, sharp drop-offs and the presence of sharp edges could cause injuries.

The agency recommends against eating fish caught there.

For information: Tonia Burk, environmental health scientist, 770-488-0764 or 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636).

An in-store video shows an unidentified woman throwing a bucket of water during a rampage at a McDonald's in Kansas City, Mo., because she didn't like her hamburger and wanted a refund.

The woman caused thousands of dollars in damage Dec. 27, police say, when she became upset that the restaurant wouldn’t refund her money.

Employees had offered to replace her hamburger, but the woman refused and demanded her money back.

Police released a video showing the woman throwing a sign and a bucket of water over the counter and pushing a glass display case and three cash registers off it. She then cursed and fled.

A McDonald’s in Toledo, Ohio, had its own attack Friday: Police say a woman punched through its drive-through window because Chicken McNuggets weren’t available.

Police said Melodi Dushane, 24, was treated for injuries, then jailed. She pleaded not guilty to a vandalism charge. She was released on a recognizance bond and ordered not to have contact with the restaurant.

U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow watches pallbearers carry her husband's coffin during his funeral in March 2005 in Evanston, Ill. The husband and the judge's mother were killed by a man apparently angered by a court ruling. [AP photo]

The report was issued shortly before a gunman walked into a federal building in Las Vegas and opened fire, killing a court security officer and seriously wounding a deputy U.S. marshal.

The suspect was shot dead by other officers. Investigators say he believed he was discriminated against because he was black, and that he harbored a grudge against the government for reducing his Social Security benefits.

The report by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine concluded that there are still major gaps in reporting and responding to threats. Concerns about security intensified five years ago after a man whose medical malpractice lawsuit was dismissed killed the husband and mother of a federal judge.

Between 2003 and 2008, the number of threats and inappropriate communications jumped from 592 to 1,278, the report found. The government defines “inappropriate communications” as messages that aren’t explicitly threatening but worrisome enough to require further investigation.

The federal court system has more than 2,000 judges and more than 5,000 prosecutors.

Prosecutors and judges “do not consistently and promptly report threats they receive,” the inspector general’s report found — estimating that as many as 25 percent of threats are not reported to security officials.

When those threats are reported, the U.S. Marshals do not consistently coordinate with local police, and in many cases don’t record ever having notified the FBI of the threats.

According to the marshals’ own threat database, there was no record of having notified the FBI of 40 percent of the threats, the report said.

The U.S. Marshals Service agreed with the inspector general’s recommendations to improve coordination with local and FBI officials, and to more thoroughly analyze each threat and take necessary protective measures.

Marshals spokesman Jeff Carter said the agency has “made great strides over the past few years in our judicial security mission, and as the U.S. Marshals Service believes there is always room to perfect the process, we will carry out the report’s recommendations with that goal in mind.”

Justice Department spokeswoman Melissa Schwartz said the agency is carefully examining the findings and “will take appropriate action to ensure the safety of all employees in the United States Attorneys’ offices.”

The review notes that no federal judges or prosecutors have been killed in the six-year period.

NDrive\'s G400 is a GPS navigator with a breathalyzer built into the side.

Companies are making the devices convenient. Some fit on a keychain. Some connect to iPods or iPhones. Some have clocks, calculators or flashlights built in. But how accurate are they? As accurate as what police use? Accurate enough to tell you whether to drive or call a cab? Simple enough that a drunken person could use it properly? Just what is their purpose?

Breathalyzers measure the amount of alcohol in your breath when you exhale. Different jurisdictions set different blood alcohol levels to determine whether a driver is impaired. In Maryland, a level between .04 and .08 is considered driving under the influence; .08 or higher is driving while intoxicated. But if you’re younger than 21, a reading of .02 is grounds for a $500 fine and license suspension.

This makes it seem clearer than it really is. AAA and manufacturers disagree on the accuracy of personal test devices. Also, when you take the test matters, too: If you gulp a drink for the road, its alcohol doesn’t immediately show up in a reading; tests taken sooner than 20 minutes after a last drink won’t measure the peak of intoxication. Experts don’t even agree on the usefulness of measuring blood alcohol levels.

Breathalyzers sometimes are praised as at least a guide for sensible behavior. Parents and schools use them to check youngsters for any amount of drinking. Some bars provide the devices, but you hear talk of patrons competing to see who can get the highest level.

According to the USA Today article, the Food and Drug Administration has approved 21 models, with consumers spending $150 million on them in 2009.

Relying on a designated driver might be cheaper, in more ways than one. But if a personal breathalyzer convinces a drinker to get out from behind the wheel instead of driving away, everyone wins.