Beware of malicious e-traps
With Christmas and New Year just around the corner many have already gone into an overdrive with planning for party and shopping for gifts. But as we get proactive to grab the best bargains on the Web, so are cyber-criminals. “The Norton Cybercrime Report: The Human Impact 2010”, reports that over three-quarter of Indians have fallen victim to cyber-crime and it gives us all the more reasons to be careful when online.
Traditionally, malicious activity on the Internet is high at this time of the year. And as more Indians shop online, play and surf for the best deals and steals, cyber-criminals are also working overtime to create malwares and malicious schemes to trap unsuspecting e-shoppers, informs Gaurav Kanwal, country sales manager, India, Consumer Products and Solutions, Symantec. He talks about lurking dangers online, saying, “Over 76 per cent of Indians have fallen victim to cyber-crime in the recent past. These include online credit-card fraud, identity theft and computer viruses, which make India one of the most victimised nations, a figure only second to China.”
It’s no secret that spammers and cyber-criminals count on special occasions to hoodwink Internet users, says, Satyam Mehra, an MNC employee, who recently fell prey to an ingenious trap. “It looked like a genuine mail from my bank, graphics, logos et all. I am used to checking my bank statement online so I didn’t think twice before clicking on the fraudulent link and signing up on the landing page that promised bargains. And now my inbox is spammed with email offers. Thankfully, I realised early that it wasn’t my bank else it would’ve compromised with credit card details too,” says Satyam.
On why it is imperative that we defend ourselves against the variety of digital dangers lurking on the Internet, Gaurav says, “For a safe online experience it is critical that we are aware of the online threats such as poised search engine results and spam mails. Falling for any of these threats can not only infect your computer with viruses, but also reveal critical data.”
By following a few common sense tips it is easy to avert Web frauds, says Nikhil Bathla, search engine marketing expert, and adds, “One needs to ignore all offers that are too good to be true and never ever click on banner advertisements.”
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