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Online Fraud

Tuesday, April 4th, 2006

It seems like everyday there is a story in the news about a new online scam that caused people to lose tons of money. It’s true that the Internet has become a dangerous place. The hackers of today aren’t just bored teenagers anymore. Today’s online criminals are highly skilled computer experts who know how to manipulate your PC in order to get the information they need to cause you a lot of trouble.

Fortunately for you, the online fraud risks you take when using the Internet can be dramatically reduced with a little bit of knowledge.

Online Fraud & Spyware

Online fraud has many different faces, but the most common way that hackers get information about you is through the use of spyware. A Spyware program is software that, once installed, collects information about you off your computer and sends it to some third party who uses that information against you. You may not know it, but your computer has files on it right now that contain information like your name, your address, what websites you visit, what kinds of online purchases you make, maybe even your credit card number. All a spyware program has to do is find these files and then send off whatever it finds. This is how a lot of online fraud starts and you probably wouldn’t have any clue that this was going on.

You may think that spyware can’t get on your computer unless you are the one to install it, but this is not the case. By manipulating a technology called ActiveX, hackers can remotely install whatever they want on your PC. They can do this if you simply visit a suspicious website.

The Dangers of Online Fraud

Once hackers have installed their spyware on your PC to do their dirty work and have received your information, the sky is the limit in terms of what they can do with what they have.

Sometimes hackers will sell your information to another party who will use it to bombard you with spam and other advertisements and popups. But it gets worse. Every year thousands of people fall victim to identity theft. Identity theft is when someone else uses your personal information to assume your identity. If another person gains access to only a few key piece of information, they can make purchases in your name, take out loans in your name, or get government identification documents (like a passport) in your name.

Identity theft can be devastating. Most victims spend months or even years as well as thousands of dollars of their own money clearing their names and fixing their credit reports. And until all that is fixed, victims may lose job opportunities, be refused loans, education, housing or cars, or may even be arrested for crimes they didn’t commit.

Online Fraud Protection

Online fraud is an incredibly frustrating and financially taxing thing to have happen to you. So adding advanced protection from online fraud could very well be one of the best investments you’ll ever make. If you want solid protection from online fraud, then Secure IE Browser Security fortified with Private IE Privacy Manager is your best choice.

Secure IE comes with a built in Browser Shield that stops spyware at the point of entry. This powerful tool filters out prohibited ActiveX controls - the very tool that hackers use to download spyware!

And when you use Secure IE in conjunction with Private IE, your security gets even better. Private IE was built to remove all the sensitive files on your computer that might contain private information about you. Secure IE and Private IE utilize multiple lines of defense to protect you from Internet identity theft.

Step One: Secure Your Web Browser

Secure IE’s unique approach to online security:

New! Integrated McAfee Site Advisor warns of dangerous Web sites, places safety ratings alongside search results, and provides a site’s safety rating upon request.
Seal up security gaps with our automatic security tune-up.
Stop Spyware (which is often used in computer fraud) at the point of entry with out exclusive Browser Shield.
Automatically blocks malicious ActiveX, which hackers and identity thieves will use to gain entrance to your PC and commit computer fraud.
Block Pop-ups, including Windows Messenger pop-ups.
One click access to security zones, which allow you to designate which websites get certain privileges.
Intercepts Malicious File Downloads and scans for viruses (requires virus-scanning software).
Stay one step ahead of hackers with built in auto-updates.