What is cyber crime?

Cyber crime refer to any criminal act dealing with computers and networks. Additionally cyber crime also refers to traditional crimes conducted through the internet. Examples of cyber crime includes internet fraud, identity theft and credit card account theft.

Online Fraud
An example of online fraud is phishing. Phishing is practically an online con game and phishers are nothing more than tech savvy con artists and identity thieves. They use spam, fake websites, crimeware and other techniques to trick people into giving them sensitive information such as bank and credit card account details. After they have gathered enough information, they would open up new accounts using the victim's name or they would drain the victim's bank account.

How phishing works
In most cases, phishers would send out a wave of spam emails sometimes up to millions of messages. Each email contains a message that appears to come from a well-known and trusted company. Usually the message includes the company's logo and name, and it often tries to evoke an emotional response to a false crisis. The email would often make a request of the user's personal information. Sometimes the email would direct the user to a fake website, the website would then require the user to provide confidential information such as passwords account number, etcs. About 1 to 10% of the recipients are duped.

Another example of online fraud is pharming. Pharming is very similar to phishing where pharmers also rely on fake websites and theft of confidential information to carry out online scams. However pharming is more difficult to detect in many ways because they are not reliant upon the victim receiving an email. Instead of relying on victim to click on the link in a fake email, pharming redirects victims to a fake website even if they type in the correct web address of their bank or other online service in their web browser. How to prevent online frauds?
One of the best ways to keep attackers away from your computer is to apply patches and other software fixes when they become available. By regularly updating your computer, you block attackers from being able to take advantage of software flaws that they could use to break into your system.

Another way is to make sure that you have configured your computer securely. A newly purchased computer may not have the right level of security for you. Configuring popular internet applications such as your web browser and email software is one of the most important areas to focus on. For example, settings in your Web browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox will determine what happens when you visit Web sites on the Internet, the strongest security settings will give you the most control over what happens online but may also frustrate some people with a large number of questions.

Choosing a strong password will also is also very important in keeping your online experience secure.

Discussion

So what are your opinions on online fraud?
Please feel free to comment.