Cyber Crime Explained

A Crime With Many Faces

Cyber crime is the term used to refer to crimes that involve computers. Sometimes the crime can be strictly computer-related such as hacking. Other times the crime might involve a traditional crime that is facilitated by the use of computers. An example of this would be child pornography.

The Most Common Cyber Crime

Cyber crime often involves identity theft. Through the use of computers and the World Wide Web, some identity theft criminals can get all the information they need to commit identity theft. As computers increase in popularity, identity theft risk increases. Intuitively, you would think that the popularity of the internet would create a demand for more sophisticated and powerful software protection programs. Unfortunately, it seems that it is difficult to keep up with the criminal mind of an individual intent on getting the needed information.

Phishing is an example of a cyber crime. Phishing involves the use of email for eliciting information from unsuspecting individuals that they would not otherwise give. One way to reduce your susceptibility to phishing is to reduce the number of spam emails you receive. Adjust your email software settings to filter out the most amount of spam. You will be less likely to inadvertently to respond to a scam email if there are less in your inbox.

Identity theft criminals send very real-looking emails, so don’t get tricked. Never provide your personal information such as your social security number via email and never follow a link to a website through the email because the site can also be erroneous. Look for other clues such as spelling and grammar errors to determine if the email is fake, so you don’t fall victim to a cyber crime.