A Look at Internet Crime

Unfortunately, crime has always been a part of the human experience. Whether it’s a mugging, robbery, or rape, you will probably see some kind of crime reported on the nightly news. With the Internet, new forms of crime have escalated to a global level and these Internet crimes are not something that usually make the evening news. 

Identity Theft:  The Most Prevalent Internet Crime

Internet crime is global and knows no national boundaries. Identity theft is the most prevalent form of Internet crime.

Many of us have had friends or family access their bank accounts to find their balances close to wiped out  due to expensive charges for goods and services that some con artist ordered and charged to their accounts.  Some have even had their entire accounts wiped out. 

To avoid being the victim of Internet crime, when ordering anything online, always make sure that you are ordering from a secure site so that your data is not stolen.  You can tell that a site is secure when an icon that looks like a little padlock shows on the lower right hand corner of your screen. You should not give personal information of any kind, whether financial or concerning your identity, on an unsecured site.  This includes sites that ask for your Social Security Number.  If there is no need for a site to have your SSN, and the site does not provide a secure environment, do not give you information.

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Beware of phishing, a common form of Internet crime.  If you receive an email allegedly from your bank,  PayPal, or other valuable online account that instructs you to update your financial or personal information, do NOT click on the link in the email because this may likely be a phishing scam. Go directly to your account site via your web browser and enter your password information through the account interface.  Never, ever click on the links in the emails.  The perpetrators of the phishing scams are quite clever about making their emails look legitimate.  The only way to avoid this Internet crime is to never click on a link to your valuable accounts that is contained in an email.

Beware that there are times that hackers will attempt to reroute a legitimate site.  Always pay attention to the address that shows in your web browser window.  If it is unfamiliar, do not enter personal or financial  information, including passwords.

Limit What Can be Stolen

If you make purchases online, a smart tip to avoid possible Internet crime is to use a prepaid debit card that has either the Mastercard or Visa logo.  If you limit your online purchases to the prepaid debit card, you are protected somewhat if the card information is stolen because it is only good for whatever amount of money you funded the card with.  Using PayPal is also another good way to protect your identity because the merchant is not given your credit or debit card information, nor does the merchant have access to your bank account information.  This private data is handled exclusively by PayPal.

Children Should be Supervised on the Internet

On a more severe note, Internet crime stretches beyond our bank accounts and IDs. Our children are at risk every time they log onto a world wide web of strangers and predators, anxious to dupe a child into their clutches. As a world of Internet surfers, we have to pay special attention to whom we converse with in an unpredictable cyberspace. Furthermore, when and where our children log on, and who they chat with. While we need and love computers and the Internet because of its handiness, we have to proceed with caution.  Parents should supervise their children's Internet activities.

"A Look at Internet Crime" contributed by Janet Duprie