The Federal Bureau of Investigation, in partnership with the National White Crime Collar Center (NW3C) and the Bureau of Justice Assistance, have established an Internet Crime Complaint Center, which plays a very important role in internet fraud protection. Here, victims or third parties can report fraud, so that appropriate measures can be taken. Various government agencies have useful information on their websites on how to identify, prevent or report Internet fraud, including the FBI (http://www.fbi.gov/majcases/fraud/internetschemes.htm) and the U.S. Department of Justice (http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/reporting.htm). The Internet Crime Complaint Center has a convenient online complaint form through which Internet fraud can be reported (http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx).

It is also important to note that some criminals may pose as a government agency themselves, including assuming the identities of FBI, Department of Justice, or Internal Revenue Service agents. It must be kept in mind that these government agencies never send out unsolicited emails requiring any personal information for “confirmation purposes.” These agencies are typically aware of such identity fraud committed in their name, and if someone receives a suspicious email from what seems to be a government agency, it is likely that the agency’s actual website will have spam alerts warning them not to respond to emails of this nature.

It is important to be aware of some of the signs of typical romance scams. Whom someone might think of as the next big love of their life may well be just a scammer if:
– they refuse to reveal specific personal information about themselves, but demanding the same information from the victim,
– they appear very attractive in their pictures on the website, but don’t want to send any other pictures to the victim,
– they ask for money for seemingly charitable goals, e.g. to pay the scammer’s or their relative’s hospital bills, help with cashing in checks and money orders (which are false, and the victim will be under penalty of perjury for fraud), pay for plane tickets, passport, etc.
– they ask for the victim’s personal information, such as their mailing address, with excuses like wanting to send some present, etc.

Taking these signs into consideration is an important method of internet fraud protection, and it can go a long way in avoiding romance scams and to ensure a safe and pleasant online dating experience.

One of the most often-used methods of identity theft is known as phishing fraud (pronounced “fishing”). Phishing scams attempt to dupe the unassuming victims into giving out their personal information and sensitive data such as email, instant messaging, or online banking user names and passwords. One common example of a phishing attack involves the victim being contacted via email by what appears to be a legitimate bank, asking to “confirm” the user’s personal information because potentially fraudulent activities were observed in their name. The email contains a link to a genuine-looking website, and the personal information that the victim submits gets into the hands of the fraudster.
Given that identity theft is one of the most widespread and dangerous forms of Internet fraud, there are many methods to prevent such abuse, including anti-phishing software.

Fraud has been around since the beginning of time, and with the advent of the Internet, there is no shortage of Internet fraud. Online fraud, unlike its traditional predecessors, is particularly dangerous, given the ever-increasing Internet dependence of global economic and monetary transactions. While “traditional” fraud could sometimes affect many individuals in different countries and communities, most fraudulent activity would be limited due to the lack of the communication infrastructure that the Internet provides. Through the Internet, however, criminals with a practically instantaneous global reach, and online scams can target millions of people living thousands of miles away.

Online Scams

Internet fraud, like most other fraudulent activities, has a single goal: to scam unsuspecting Internet users, whether private individuals or legitimate businesses, out of their money. Those who commit Internet fraud do so in a number of different ways, including identity theft by acquiring the victim’s personal information (address, social security number, etc.), the abuse of online dating websites, purchase scams, fake checks and money orders, and fraudulent work at home schemes that appeal to the victim’s desire to “get rich quick.” Even though more and more people are aware of online fraud and do not fall for it, the sheer number of people that the fraudsters can reach very easily through spam email, instant messaging, and online dating fraud makes it profitable for them to continue.

Internet Fraud Protection

Since the use of the Internet and its communication technologies is both extremely useful and universally dangerous, it is important for every Internet user to know about the resources at his or her disposal to prevent Internet fraud, including anti-spam and anti-phishing technologies, and methods to prevent identity theft. Also, if a person discovers that they were a victim of Internet fraud, there are ways for them to remedy the situation and report the fraudulent activity to the proper authorities.