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5) Do not open executable attachments in form of .exe, .pif, .com, etc from people you don’t know. It might be a Trojan or a spy ware sent to you, just to get personal information about you. In case you find out that your PC has been running slow lately, its most likely that it has spy ware or ad ware running in background. Use free programs like Lavasoft AdAware to remove these spy wares and ad wares from your PC. You can download a copy from www.download.com.
I am already a victim...what do I do? Well…then God help you. Just joking! There are places where you can report this, so that authorities can bring those criminals to book. Almost all countries have their own IT laws amended that can get you out of this problem and also ensure that person committing this crime gets punished.
The US has one of toughest punishments for people committing this crime. Most of these criminals are not less than a hacker. If you are in US, these links should help you out:
U.S. Postal Inspection Service: http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/
Federal Trade Commission: http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft
U.S. Secret Service: http://www.secretservice.gov
Department of Justice: http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/idtheft.html
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: http://www.fdic.gov/consumers
India has been taking crimes committed by using IT as a means quite seriously. In fact, it is compared to hacking. Mumbai Police in India has setup a special Cyber Crime Cell to curb this kind of offense. In fact, Mumbai Police’s Cyber Crime Cell Call Center is first call center in world to have been certified for its facility and its operation as per British Standards. These are some of links that can help:
Mumbai Police - Cyber Crime Cell http://www.cybercellmumbai.com/
Central Bureau of Investigation – Cyber Crime Cell http://www.cbi.nic.in/cyber1.htm
Pakistan too has its own Cyber Crime Cell by name PakCERT (Pakistan Computer Emergency Response Team). These guys track down people defacing websites and keep cyber crime at bay.
The link to PakCERT is: www.pakcert.org
These are just some examples. If you run a search on Google.com, you might end up with umpteen websites that will help you from being a victim. However, as it is always, prevention is better than cure. Isn’t it true? You bet!
Chris N. Fernando is a Sr. Staff Writer with Magazine 360 - an IT magazine published by ITNation, Mumbai (India). He has also worked as Technical Editor with Peer Technical Services and as Reporter for PCQuest and Living Digital magazines. He also writes for www.TheCheers.org.
Get more of him at: www.chrisfernando.tk Mail him at: chris.n.fernando@gmail.com