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New_Internet_Users_Beware
| New Internet Users Beware...
The internet can be a confusing place for any new subscriber to
the world wide web. Far from being a warm welcome, the internet
can often seem daunting and full of hidden horrors. In addition
to having to learn a wide range of applications and terminology,
the new user has to contend with the ever increasing risk of
malicious intent from the fraudsters and scam merchants of this
world.
Setting off to explore the world wide web without a firewall and
some sort of software protection is both irresponsible and an
invite for trouble. Easy access to the internet internationally
has ensured that spammers, scam merchants, fraudsters and
general conmen are all out to get you from almost every corner
of the globe. Just browsing the internet innocently can result
in your PC becoming infested with spyware which can blast you
with pop ups, or worse still – spy on everything you do online.
Whilst new users sign up in their thousands there is rising
evidence to suggest that a good number of experienced internet
users are ‘switching off’ from browsing the net due to concerns
over security and repetitive spam and browser attacks. With chip
and pin credit cards there is also the added risk of further
credit card fraud by criminal gangs having to re target the
internet in compensation for face to face credit card
transactions becoming more secure.
Day after day we are told how wonderful the net is – indeed this
is so. However, not so wonderful is the constant bombardment of
porn, pop ups, rogue diallers that will cost you a fortune and
all manner of persistent and sinister emails, of which many can
appear very convincing to anyone who is inexperienced. The
internet can actually be a very dangerous place.
Perhaps the most famous scam of all can be referred to as the
419 scam or Advanced Fee Fraud which is reported to be the third
largest industry in Nigeria, netting around Ł8 billion per
annum. This particular scam relies on trapping new users to the
internet who are led to believe they have chanced upon a golden
opportunity to make some serious money. An email reports that
some ex president of a massive oil refinery is sitting on
thousands or millions of dollars in cash and needs your help to
spirit it out of their troubled country. Some scams are
ingenious and well thought out whilst other variations can be
extremely childish and barely plausible.
The 419 scam in particular, relies on the victim’s greed and
gullibility. The initial email is normally a desperate plea for
getting money out of Nigeria or some other troubled war torn
African nation, with the sole aim of extracting as much money as
they think they can squeeze out of your bank account to cover
the imaginary fees and costs for a non existent transaction.
Once you have entered into correspondence with the scammer you
are then persuaded to pass on details of your bank account,
arrange to pay local taxes, solicitors costs and all manner of
additional expenses relating to the transfer of this imaginary
money.
Some lottery schemes work on the same principle and ask you for
the tax on winnings before you can get paid your lump sum –
basically another variation of the same 419 scam. Even though
these people are dangerous criminals, there are some victims who
have met them face to face and have been kidnapped for ransom,
tortured or even murdered. Never agree to meet anyone over the
internet and be very wary of this type of fraud.
Despite the obvious dangers it would appear that many internet
users are fighting back. Several websites designed to fight the
scammers are now hitting these criminals hard by wasting their
time, replying to their emails and spinning them along into
uncessary expense and confusion. This is a kind of reverse 419
scam but not for financial reward. This type of activity is not
for the faint hearted and not something we would recommend for
any inexperienced internet user.
In 2003 a Nigerian diplomat in Prague was shot by a 72 year old
Czech in revenge for the fact that he had lost his life savings
in an oil investment 419 scam. Nigerian banks and corporate
business has been hampered severely by Nigeria’s bad reputation
to the extent that many foreign companies no longer accept
orders or trade with Nigeria as a result.
Once on the internet it is amazing to find how easily you have
won a car, the lottery or have found the confidence of a
complete stranger the other side of the world who wants to give
you millions of dollars. Or, how about that fantastic little
program that you downloaded that lets you watch free porn all
day long, what was it called? Porn dialler. The happiness is
short lived after you receive your first telephone bill.
If you receive strange emails ‘out of the blue’ that contain
offers just too good to be true, the fact is – they are just
that – too good to be true. Delete them and move on.
Source: http://www.birminghamuk.com
About the author:
From the website at Birmingham UK Com. ( www.birminghamuk.com )
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