Computer Fraud

Computer fraud is any corrupt falsification planned to let another to do or withhold from doing something which causes loss. There are different forms of fraud that are done using computer systems, including bank fraud, identity theft, and theft of personal information. Computer use is not safe from fraudulent or criminal activity. The common goal of most fraudulent activities is making illegal material gains at the expense of others. Some of the most extensively commited frauds are:

• Sending hoax emails intended to scare people.
• Illegally using someone else’s computer or “posing” as someone else on the Internet.
• Using spyware to gather information about people.
• Hacking into computer systems to gather large amounts of information for illegal purposes.
• Emails attempting to gather personal information to be used to access and use credit cards or social security numbers.
• Hacking into or illegally using a computer to change information, such as grades, work reports, etc.

Here is a short video that shows you how these methods work:

Even though there are penalties for committing computer fraud but law governing against it may be difficult to enforce. Therefore it is your own duty to protect your self from such frauds by performing following acts:

• Do not give personal information to anyone or to any company you’ve never heard of before. This includes your full name, your address, your phone number, credit card number, social security numbers.
•  Do not pay attention to get rich quick schemes.
•  Do not open emails from strangers. Install anti-viral software and spam blocking programs on your computer and your email program.
•  Don’t downloadattachments from people you don’t know.