Though the recent growth in technology, particularly the internet, has

yielded numerous benefits, various internet crimes have paralleled these

advancements.  It is estimated that nearly 1 out of every 3 households will

fall victim to such white-collar crimes, and even less will report it.  The

reason being: internet crimes are concealed under legitimate activity so

most people do not even realize their victimization, among those that do;

they simply do not know who to report it to. 

One such internet crime that is plaguing society today is“phishing,” defined

 as the fraudulent process by which one acquires sensitive information such

 as usernames, passwords and credit carddetails by posing as a trustworthy

 entity in electronic communication. 

A common example of phishing is sending E-mails, supposedly from the

Internal Revenue Service, to uncover sensitive data from U.S. taxpayers. 

Often the phisher will trick the recipient into revealing confidential

information.  While these emails are well disguised, there is always ways

of telling them apart from the legitimate businesses.  

For example look for misspelled words, this is a common mistake.  Also be

sure to note the URL of the webpage though it may appear to be legitimate,

it might actually link to the phisher’s webpage.  When entering financial

information, make sure that the website is secure, to do this check for an

“s” after the words “http.”  Be smart about the information you give out 

on the internet, don’t fall victim to internet crimes!