don't blame the internet

">"> Identity Theft - Do not Blame the InternetIdentity flight - also known as identity theft, identity theft and fraud ID - describes a type of fraud where a criminal adopts the identity of anyone One of the other in order to benefit illegally. It is one of the fastest growing forms of fraud in many developed countries. In the UK, identity theft is growing at a rate of 500% each year and, according Which Magazine, 25% of the population have suffered from identity theft or know someone who has. In the United States, a report published by the Better Business Bureau found that 2004, more than 9 million Americans were victims of identity theft with the total amount defrauded is estimated at $ 52.6 billion. with figures like these, it's no wonder he there is some concern regarding computer and Internet safety. after all, the Internet is essentially a mechanism for exchanging information and the possibility that some information may be exchanged over the destiny ' is never far fr! om many users minds. It is easy to imagine criminal minds from around the world using the Internet to hack into computers in order to gain access to information with which to advance their plans devilishly sly. however, as 'revealed in the report, the facts are a bit more down to earth and the Internet, rather than make you more at risk of identity theft, can help reduce your losses if you do the victims of this form of fraud. According to the Better Business Bureau of research of the main methods by which criminals have access to the information used in identity theft and fraud are: Lost or stolen wallet, notebook cheques or credit cards. 28.8% Viewed in the context of a transaction. 12.9% * Accessed by a friend, an acquaintance or relative. 11.4% Do not know, refusal, no answer. 11.1% of information that is accessible by employees corrupt. 8.7% Stolen paper mail or fraudulent change of address. 8.0% achieved in another way. spyware Computer 7.4%. Information 5.2% stolen g! arbage. 2.6% Computer viruses and / or hackers. 2.2% mails sen! t by cri minals posing as legitimate. 1.7% * 12.9% due to operations - 10, 4% of online transactions, 2.5% of online transactions. Altogether, the case when the information was accessed during the transactions are divided into transactions online and offline, only 11.6% of the information used to carry out identity theft and fraud have been obtained from the computers. From this more than half was obtained by the use of spyware, viruses or hacking - including the risk may be greatly reduced by the installation of software protection and ensure that this is kept up to date. Not only does the survey show that the Internet is not an important source of personal information obtained illegally, but he also been found that the victims of fraud which has audited the financial records using the Internet, ATM machines or other electronic methods suffered financial losses that were, on average, 8 times lower than those of victims who used traditional paper statements to monitor their accounts.! This drastic reduction has been attributed to the rapid discovery of the fraud because of "real time" monitoring. Naturally, this does not mean that you should not do exercise caution when using the Internet or taking care to protect the personal information you may have stored on your PC. However, as long as you install suitable virus, firewall and protection against spyware, and to keep this updated continuously to the Internet may be more of a help than a hindrance when it comes to preventing identity fraud.By: Kavita BArticle Directory: http:// More www.articledashboard. Free Resources comFor visit www.100computertips.com