The internet has opened up a whole raft of new opportunities for fraudsters to trick the unwary. Internet crime can take many forms and the perpetrators are constantly thinking up new ways to deceive. There is no need for panic as long as a few safeguards and rules are applied.
Keep your computer safe. You must have good up to date anti-virus protection and preferably a firewall. Both can be downloaded free of charge, examples are Avast or AVG anti-virus and 'Zone Alarm' firewall. See that your computer is set to receive automatic security patches (updates) from Microsoft.
Follow two cardinal rules to keep nasties away from your computer:
1. Never open e-mail attachments, even from trusted sources, unless you are sure they are genuine, ie. the text in the main body explains the attachment. If in doubt, dont!
2. Beware of clicking on any links from or to dodgy sites, these sometimes pretend to be from reputable organizations, such as banks, British Gas, Inland Revenue, Amazon, E-Bay etc. If trusting people can be persuaded to pass on confidential account information large sums can be syphoned from their accounts. This is known as 'phishing' and reputable firms do not request information this way. Even the 'No thank you' or 'close' x button can be a trap. Try pressing Control + W to get rid of a doubtful site.
Do not reply to emails, often from Nigeria or Russia, offering great business opportunities, vast fortunes or seeking sympathy. If the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
Spam is a curse of the internet and much of it is being sent out by innocent users whose computers have been hijacked by implanted programmes. If your computer is running very slowly or is acting in other strange ways you could be a victim. Running a virus scan with a good anti-virus programme should show up any lurking intruder.
Also please do not pass on any chain-mail type emails containing dire warnings about supposed viruses that will wreck you computer. They are invariably hoaxes and at best clog the internet, at worst they could themselves contain a virus. The anti-virus organizations run a 24 hour watch for new viruses and will take action far quicker than these warnings can be passed on, if your AV is up to date you should be safe. Even well intentioned 'pretty picture' or joke chain emails can be used to harvest email addresses, resulting in still more spam.