My friends in web hosting business have recently informed me that big problem this year (2004) is security and fraud. I have read that currently F.B.I. receives over 9,000 complaints per month pertaining to bogus email and websites. Why is this happening? Are just a few ‘bad apples’ doing it, or is it result of a lopsided world economy where underprivileged are finally striking back like infamous Robin Hood? Whatever your moral view, I’ve got strange feeling it stems from a growing unconscious greed in social consciousness of modern society. People worship money, not spirituality or love. Am I wrong?

Technically, main problems at moment are ‘phishing’ or ‘spoofing’ scams. This is where use of Spam or junk-email is used to lure computer users to look-alike websites where they are deceived into giving out personal information and financial data. Often these emails are coming from trusted sources where hackers have altered links to send you straight into their ‘pockets’. The Internet user is duped into thinking that they are visiting a trusted website page, when actually it is an excellent copy of original. There might be only one tiny change in web address that is often not easily recognizable.

Identity theft is where multiple tricks are employed to make you fill out fake forms on fake sites to get all sorts of information that can then be used by thieves to steal money or get free Internet access. Anything from credit card numbers to account information, passwords, billing data and personal phone numbers and addresses have been stolen and used for criminal purposes.

Recently I was on Internet looking up some books that I’ve read to see what other people had to say about them. I came across one book and a lot of people had said it was very fraudulent and that actually author was not kind of person you’d want to associate with. This got me to thinking. There is so much information in our world today circulating by word of mouth, literature, media and now Internet, which is a combination of all these and more. Anyone can write anything they want to, I mean look at me I’m doing it right now. Who’s to say if what I’m writing is credible? How do we discern between legitimate honest writer and words of a fool twisting meanings to trap gullible knaves like myself? With advent of Internet we also have to take a new approach to gaining knowledge and accessing information from others.

In life, best way to know anything is through one’s own experience right? The next best thing is to go to a trusted source of knowledge and wisdom, friend, family or professional. Still we always must be aware that human beings are perfectly flawed creatures, each one with areas of ignorance, fear and suffering. Sometimes we really have to go with our ‘gut’ feeling about something others have said. What about when you want to find out about something that no one you know has experience with?