Deceit is an online fraud technique used by criminals to convince you to reveal personal information, that permits them to do the following: to apply and obtain credits in your name, to empty your bank account and make expenses in the limit of your credit, to extract money from your account, to use a copy of your debit card to extract money from all over the world.

The warning signs are obvious, it is possible to be the victim of fraud when your are solicited to provide personal data to an unknown source, to check your account information under the threat of account suspending, to sell an element with the promise of a much higher payment than the real value is, and to make direct payments. Unfortunately, as deceit attacks become more and more sophisticated, it is harder for the ordinary man to realize if an email message or a website is fraudulent. That is why deceitful strategies are so widespread and successful for criminals. For example, many fake email messages and websites create links towards real company logos, whose trademarks are very well known. So, they seem legitimate.

Most legitimate firms respect the rule of not asking personal information through email. One that does is suspect, so pay extra attention. Fraud messages style is, usually, polite and obliging. They try to make you respond to them or make you click the included link. To increase the number of responses, crooks try to create the impression of urgency, so that people respond right away, without thinking. Generally, fake mail messages are not personalized, while real ones, coming from electronic commerce companies or banks are personalized.

Many fraud strategies request you to open attachments, which can infect your computer with viruses or spy programs. If you download spy programs, they can register key sequence you use to log on your personal online accounts, so it is like offering them your passwords. Any attachment you wish to visualize should be saved first, and then scanned with an updated antivirus program, before opened. To contribute to your computer protection, there are programs which automatically block certain types of attachments that can spread viruses.

People who create deceitful messages are so skilful, that it is impossible for a common person to know whether that link is legitimate or not. It is good to type the web address you know is correct, in the browser. Also, it is possible to save the correct address at Preferences. Do not copy and paste web addresses from email messages to browser. But before getting to this situation, it is most indicated to not have anything to do with companies you don’t know and don’t trust. Use firms having reputation due to quality services. A business website should always have a confidentiality declaration that explicitly says the firm will not transmit your name and information to other persons. As conclusion, being cautious prevents you from frauds, because no one can steal from you if you do not let them.