Students may be the targets of computer and Internet crimes ¢ or the perpetrators.

Enlightening students about the dangers of computer and Internet crimes will be the topic of a safety discussion from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday in the wrestling room at Lied Recreation Center. The ISU Police and Margaret Sloss Women¡s Center will sponsor the event, with speaker Sgt. Aaron Delashmutt.

Delashmutt will define computer and Internet crimes, such as identity theft, cyber harassment and cyber stalking. The short lecture will be followed by a course in self-defense. This information can appeal to anybody and everybody,Πsaid Julie Harders, program manager at DPS.

Sometimes people don¡t even realize they¡re being victimized,Œ said ISU Police Capt. Gene Deisinger.

Deisinger said even perpetrators don¡t always know they could be committing a crime. People need to know they can come to the police for help.

There are three active investigations on campus in which there was a crime involving the use of computers and/or the Internet, Deisinger said. The ISU police are not new to these crimes ¢ they have many closed cases dealing with such matters.

A perpetrator of computer crimes could face harassment and assault charges. Assault charges would apply when there is a threat of violence.

Both harassment and assault are misdemeanors. If found guilty, a person could spend up to 30 days in jail or pay a fine up to $100, said Jerry Stewart, director of DPS.

Offensive intrusion may not always be illegal intrusion,ΠDeisinger said.

The university also has sanctions for students who are using the computers in an inappropriate manner.

Deisinger said it can be hard to keep up with offenders with the rapid changes computers and the Internet are making. Some larger cities are adding computer crime task forces to their departments.

It¡s a different way for committing traditional crimes,Œ Stewart said.

Stewart and Deisinger it can be difficult for people to protect themselves. Software that protects identity also protects the offender¡s identity.

Both said it¡s important that people are aware they make themselves potential victims when they put a rEsumE online, create a personal site, make purchases or appear on the ISU directory Web site.

We don¡t have the basic information we need to secure ourselves,Œ said Jeff Cullen, men¡s outreach coordinator for the Women¡s Center.