As technology advances, we open ourselves up to new vulnerabilities.
That's according to Jay Greenberg, the new Special Agent in charge of the FBI office in St. Louis. Greenberg stopped by KMOX to discuss the threats of cyber crime, gun violence, and more with Carol Daniel.
Greenberg discussed the increases of "sextortion" online, especially that targets teenage boys.
"With the advent of technology, every time we make an increase, we create another avenue of vulnerability for some population," Greenberg said. "What we have seen as a very alarming trend that we want to stay on top of with the public's help."
He said that because teenagers' brains aren't fully developed, they can't always make the best decisions -- especially online. This makes them an easy target for things like extortion, which can be hard for them to talk about if it does happen.
"Our children are scared. They don't have the language for it. They don't know how to report that," Greenberg said.
He added that it's up to trusted adults to reach out to kids and let them know that it's okay to talk about it. "Let them know, if this is happening to you, you are a victim, you do not need to be ashamed, you do not need to worry about judgment, we need you to come forward and tell us what's happening because you as a victim are probably one of hundreds of victims being targeted by this very same predator. And you could be the one with your bravery who can help us break this cycle."
The topic can be hard for parents to talk about, too. Greenberg laid out some resources for parents to use to begin the conversation with their kids.
He added that cybersecurity and cyber "hygiene" are important for everyone, not just teenage boys. That includes businesses.
"For companies it's really looking at, if you think about a physical space like a warehouse, it's easy to understand locking the door, closing a window, throwing a lock on a window," he said. "We're asking all the companies to make sure that they're doing that on every port into their system from a cyber perspective, we really need to make sure those are locked and those are not open for business."
And for individuals, being skeptical of random phone calls or emails is key. Greenberg said the phrase to keep in mind is "Always doubt, check it out."
"If you get an email or you get a phone call, and you are asked for your personally identifiable information, your financial information, you're told there's a warrant for your arrest, you're told that you need to pay this fine, you're told you're overdue on a credit card, you're told that when you close in real estate, here's an email that's giving you a new account that you need to be looking at -- don't follow the contact information that is being provided to you." He adds that the best course of action is to hang up and call your bank or realtor to see if the information is legitimate.
Aside from dealing with cyber crime, Greenberg also has a special focus on reducing violent crime in the city. He says prevention is key.
"We are looking to continue leaning in on carjackings and on violent crime crews as well as in gang activity, where generally we see gun crime go together with drug trafficking," he said. "Those are areas where every chance we get to be proactive, and get what we call in the community 'left of boom,' before there's a shooting or a violent crime act. We always want to stop something rather than prosecute afterwards."
Listen to the whole conversation here: