Internet scam is the illegal act of stealing Web user’s personal financial information by hacking their user names, passwords, PIN numbers etc. For this purpose, Web scammers send Phishing emails with a catchy subject and pleasant images to grab the attention of the reader. The moment the wrong link is clicked on, the process gets attacked by malware and the vital information gets hacked. There have been numerous reports of financial loss due to Web scams historically.
Tips to protect you from Internet scam
Be ware of unsolicited emails. Fortunately, these days, the e-mail services themselves have various tools to filter out the unsolicited junk mails and put them in the ‘spam’ box. Even if a number of them slip through the filtering system and land up on your Inbox, see to that the content is sensible. Seldom fall prey to the mails that ask for your personal knowledge.
Create unique passwords for all of your online accounts. Make definite you generate strengthened passwords. Shorter passwords are simple to hack as they require less coding for the hackers. Maintain different passwords for various online accounts like e mail, social networking sites, Net banking etc and make definite you make a note of the new passwords as and when you change them.
The majority of these types of scams are of the sort where the victim willingly gives the information away – that could be, as you say, by clicking on a link or replying to an email. What is really needed is more education rather than protective tools i think.