What are the risks?
Internet criminals want your money
The internet is great. People like to email, chat and have fun online. We also use it to buy and sell things, do our taxes or bank online. Unfortunately, online criminals want a piece of the action. They’re in it to make money.
There are many ways for online crooks to get you:
- Infect your computer with spyware to steal your identity
- You can get ripped off, have your identity stolen and fall for scams
- Mess up your computer with popups and viruses
- Take over your computer and use it to attack other people
- Hit you with spam and scam emails
- Con you into visiting fake websites and handing over personal information
- Hack into your wireless network
- Use email and chat to bully, con or cheat you
What’s at stake? Your privacy. Your time. Your cash. Your reputation. Your computer.
It is better to stop a problem before it happens than try to fix it afterwards. When things go wrong, it can be a real pain to sort out.
If you do nothing, it WILL happen to you. On the other hand, protecting yourself is easier than you think. GetSafeOnline.org has all the information you need.