So who are all these spies and why are they spying?

Remember internet crime is extremely big, we don’t have any exact totals but be assured they are truly astronomical figures in billions of dollars worldwide. Many cyber based crimes are not reported, listed or recorded and sometimes not even noticed. We can only deal in estimates and approximation

All over the internet major crime syndicates are moving or expanding into cyber crime. In places like Brazil, China and Eastern Europe, sophisticated criminal networks have an enormous amount of infratructure in place to support their cyber crime. Engaging in crime on the internet has a couple of huge advantages, very big rewards and very low risk.

Computer hackers or identity thieves will often target the average internet surfer. The professional and sophisticated gangs will also be very careful about HOW they steal from you. Once they have your information, your details then there are literally hundreds of ways to use this. The mad spending spree on a debit card or bank account is easily detectable but how about credit applied for in your name, how about the inoffensive looking direct debit for $30 which is removed every month.

Some of these criminals have gone to incredible lengths to steal your data and information. I have seen a copy of Windows XP from Eastern Europe that looked 100% legitimate, shrink wrapped, certificate of authenticity all included, the only problem was this version of XP was preloaded with trojans, viruses and keyloggers ready to start stealing your details from the first install. As soon as you connected to the internet your passwords and accounts would be mailed to a server on the internet…ouch.

So just as you would lock your doors at home, many are beginning to do the same online. I personally want internet privacy protection because I use the internet to pay bills, do my banking, and lots of other activities which involve both my financial and personal details. Do I really want all these details logged on the internet, and at my ISP for example, well no not really.

You see it’s not exactly hard to steal these personal details online. Yes a gang of cyber criminals based in Rio de Janerio can steal from you, even though you’ve never been to Brazil. When you discover your bank account emptied, what can you do? In reality very little but attempt to get yoru money refunded from your bank or credit card company, either way the criminal himself is very unlikely to pay for his crimes.

Privacy Policies.
Many companies will prominently post their privacy policies, where they state that they don’t share your information with others. If a company Web site does not make mention of this kind of secure online shopping, avoid providing them with your personal information. There’s no guarantee that a company with a privacy policy will honor it, but you stand a better shot of safeguarding your info with one that claims to.

Online Promotions.
Dozens of surveys, promotions, contests and opinion polls ask you to sign up online at any given point, but think twice about distributing your personal information to such businesses. Most of these are set up primarily to retrieve your contact information. To avoid having your information in the hands of companies you don’t even know, resist the urge to complete the forms.

Security Measures.
Look for symbols on the Web site that ensure security for your payment information. While they are never 100 percent secure, a strong payment security system makes it extremely difficult for hackers to access your financial information, such as credit card numbers and bank accounts. Consider using a payment service, such as PayPal, where you transfer money into the online payment service from your bank account. The online retailer gets only your PayPal information, not the bank info.

E-Mail Addresses.
Avoid making it easy for spammers to get your e-mail address. Clever programs scour the Web searching for valid e-mail addresses, so don’t put your actual e-mail address in your e-mail signature. Also, change the address just enough when posting on a forum or message board so that it’s easy for readers to e-mail you, but the harvesting programs will be confused.

Online Communities.
With message boards, community profiles and personal pages such as MySpace and Facebook, you can reveal as much or as little about yourself as you want. Err on the side of caution and keep relevant and identifying information private. Avoid listing such seemingly innocent information such as your phone number, address, school or work name, hobbies and even the names of family members.