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How Are Computer Used in Network Fraud

How Are Computer Used in Network Fraud

With the frequent use of computers and the Internet, Internet fraud is a common problem that is becoming more and more rampant. Committing an act of fraud usually involves deceiving a third party for personal gain. Proceeding from that understanding, Internet fraud would mean deceiving, or perhaps stealing, by using the Internet as a tool. Contact a fraud lawyer to acquire legal advice and assistance.

A common occurrence of Internet fraud takes place when an outside party hacks into the victim's account and obtains personal information (i.e. credit card numbers, social security information, phone number, etc.). Many times, they will then use that information to pose as the victim in order to commit offenses or to purchase items and charge them to the victim's account. In order to do this, some perpetrators may use malware (malicious software) as a way to obtain another person's personal information from the Internet.

Other perpetrators will actually physically sit at a computer in order to gather the victim's personal data. In order to prevent falling victim to this kind of fraud, make sure to always log off of private accounts and be wary of using personal information over the Internet.

However, stealing information is not the only form of Internet fraud. Sending false e-mail information to frighten or make others feel threatened also falls into the category of Internet fraud. Many feel that this may just be a harmless prank, but this is also considered a Federal offense according to laws of cybercrimes in the United States.

Depending on the circumstance, cyberbullying under an alias can be considered a form of Internet fraud. The best thing to do if one were to fall victim to such a crime would be to immediately report the hostile e-mails or messages to the Internet service provider.

Another scenario that falls into the category of Internet fraud is that of online money schemes/scams. Many times they are advertised as services or jobs that ask for a small fee, but they end up taking large amounts of the victim’s money. Ways to avoid this kind of Internet fraud would include heavily researching companies that advertise on the Internet, avoid paying upfront fees (especially for your employment), and stay away from anything that deals with taking money orders.