Malware comes in many disguises; one well documented scam which affected many of internet users was the job site scam. Recipients of the e-mail didn't doubt its authenticity since the e-mails were personalised.

The way this fraud event occurred was through an e-mail attachment. The user downloaded what they believed was a toolbar that was said to assist them with their job search. Many downloaded this toolbar with the program infected their computers with a Trojan virus which began collecting all their personal information as they suffered various websites; it logged their keystrokes sending back password information. They then could access more personal information and financial details which were then stolen and used or sold on. Identity theft is a very enriching business with the average identity said to be worth £80,000. Your system may even be used as a botnet where computers are remotely manipulated to send further spam attacks to others.

Malware is a growing business and educating yourself, friends, employees and colleagues is important to protecting identities and a business's reputation. Fraud events are increasing as more fraudsters head online and with viruses said to be available to them for less than £20 and discounts on larger orders, the cost to them is very low with the reward being significant.

Avoiding becoming a Victim

The rule that should be applied to any e-mail, is never open an attachment if you don't know the recipient and even when an e-mail comes from someone you know be cautious if you weren't expecting an e-mail from them or they don't normally send you an e-mail. I have had an e-mail from a friend where his e-mail had been hacked and I could tell it wasn't from him but written better I may have been persuaded to click on the link. Most types of attachments can contain viruses however the main suffix's likely to have Trojan viruses are .rar or .exe files.

Having a good quality firewall and antivirus software is a must; you can find many good ones that are free or for added features pay a small sum which can save you money compared to removing a virus or losing valuable information all together.

It is worth regularly checking bank transactions for both personal and business accounts as well as credit card statements and look over your credit file at least twice a year to make sure your name hasn't been fraudulent used.

For further fraud awareness information its worth attending the next fraud seminar such as the respected Marcus evans fraud events conferences, held around the globe regularly.