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Information Technology
Computer Support CenterCybercrime
A recent e-mail scam mailed to America Online subscribers reveals the extent of the growing sophistication of "cybercriminals." AOL subscribers were sent a link to a Web page, where they were asked to enter their name, address, home phone number, and credit card number. This information, which was requested in the name of helping AOL fix its busy-signal problem, was being used by a cyberthief trying to commit credit card fraud.
This particular scam cleverly exploits a population's well-meaning desire to help solve a problem, and it integrates e-mail and the Web in a way that cloaks itself in respectability. People tend to be impressed by technology. Individual schemes will vary, but notice the scam's universal tip-off: someone wants information about you. Scammers may come at you via e-mail, paper mail, a Web page, or the telephone, but they'll always want information, which can be converted into money.
Industry specialists estimate electronic crime is already costing consumers millions of dollars annually. A survey conducted this year by the Computer Security Institute (CSI) indicates that reported financial losses due to various computer security breaches total more than 100 million dollars.
Analysts at the CSI believe cybercrime is growing exponentially. Hustlers and parasites of every imaginable stripe have been with us for centuries, but the hi-tech trappings of electronic media make faking legitimacy easier. Cybercrooks want your money and they're becoming very good at getting it. AOL subscribers are no more vulnerable than anyone else with an electronic mail box. The odds are that all of us will be contacted sooner or later by one type of scammer or another. It's our hope that a page like this will help you be prepared.
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