Watch out for new Internet scams in 2007

NORTH PALM BEACH, Fla. (3/7/07)--There's no shortage of new scams on the Internet, and the challenge for experts is to predict future trends to help you protect yourself and your computer (Bankrate.com Feb. 22).

Unfortunately, the number of scams is on the rise, and experts don't foresee a slowdown anytime soon. The best way to protect yourself is to know that scams exist, run software updates frequently, and don't open e-mail or follow links from unknown senders (scambusters.org).

Here are some popular scamming trends to watch for this year:

Attacks on user-contributed sites such as MySpace or YouTube;
CDs and DVDs--sent through snail mail--that contain spyware, worms, Trojans, and viruses;
Malware sent through instant messaging;
More complex, targeted phishing e-mails;
Increased volume of image spam, which is a message containing only a spam-embedded image that isn't blocked by keyword spam filters;
Increased use of Botnets, which are computers--compromised by scammers--that autonomously forward spam and viruses to other computers on the Internet, while you're completely unaware of the activity; and
Continued popularity of lottery scams, Nigerian scams, and spyware threats.

Printed Friday, January 9, 2009

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Watch out for new Internet scams in 2007