Stop Cybertheft
Welcome to AVG's Stop Cyber Theft site. AVG's Stop Cyber Theft campaign aims to raise awareness of cybertheft and to educate you on how to browse the web and email safely.
Cyber Theft has been named as one of the UK’s most feared crimes with Brits believing themselves more susceptible to online fraudsters than any other criminals. According to the latest survey, 87% of Brits admit they are worried about the threat of cyber theft. A quarter also claim there isn’t enough information available on cyber theft to adequately protect themselves from it, which is why we feel our Stop Cybertheft campaign is so important.
This research, conducted by AVG uncovered that financial transactions over the Internet are on the rise with 85% of people now using the Internet for shopping and over two thirds doing their banking online. It seems our fears about cyber theft are rising too, with 43% of Brits feeling more susceptible to cyber theft than burglary, assault or robbery.
Fears over cyber crime are to be expected in the digital age, especially as 3 in 10 people have experienced fraudulent behaviour over the Internet including fraudulent emails, credit card fraud, and unauthorised bank transfers. This said, a third of respondents were not convinced they had adequate measures in place to protect themselves from fraudulent online activity.
AVG Internet Security 3-Pack Edition
- Compatible with Windows Vista
- Protection for up to 3 PCs
How can I protect myself against Cyber Theft? - FAQ
Q. What is Cyber Theft?
A. Cyber Theft is the term we use to describe financial loss or identity fraud that could happen to you as a direct result of entering personal information while on the Internet usually for the purposes of banking, shopping or gaming.
Q. How can I prevent Cyber Theft happening to me?
A. There are a number of steps you can take to reduce the risk of becoming a victim of Cyber Theft including:
- Check that an Online Internet payment system has a padlock symbol displayed in either the bottom right-hand corner of the webpage or in the address bar.
- Never access an online payment system via a link contained in an email.
- Never send money to people or organisations that you have not heard of.
- Check the Electronic Money Association website - www.e-ma.org.
- Make sure your Internet security software gives you comprehensive protection. AVG Internet Security Home Edition, was designed for this purpose and provides ideal protection.
Q. I already have antivirus software on my PC – does that mean I’m protected?
A. Not necessarily. Anti-virus software is designed to keep your computer protected against known viruses and spot unusual behaviour patterns that indicate unknown viruses – many of them are simply trying to disrupt or harm your computer in some way, and spread themselves to other computers. Most often they are not created for the purposes of committing Cyber Theft. The most common ways to commit Cyber Theft is with spyware or phishing.
Q. What is spyware?
A. Spyware is similar to a virus in that it is an unwanted program that runs unnoticed on your computer. Spyware ranges from adware (a nuisance, but comparatively low risk) through to surveillance software (scans your hard disk for private data such as credit card numbers, passwords and other personal information). This type of spyware then sends this information back over the Internet to the criminals that made the spyware.
Q. How does spyware get on to my computer?
A. Your computer is most at risk from infection from spyware if you use file sharing applications such as music or video sharing software or websites.
Often a fraudster will send an email containing malware (or malicious software) to an unsuspecting computer user. Once the email has been opened the malware will be automatically downloaded onto their computer. Malware can also be contained in downloads from the internet. Depending upon the type of malware it may enable the fraudster to capture personal information and passwords.
Q. How can I tell if I have spyware?
A. The whole point of spying on people is to remain undetected so they can collect referral fees on adverts or by exploiting and making use of stolen information like credit card numbers.
The very worst kinds of spyware are designed to operate in stealth mode in order to avoid being discovered. Unprotected PCs can often have several different types of spyware running at the same time. One visible sign that your computer may be infected with spyware is that is starts to become slow or prone to crashing. This is because spyware applications interfere with the computer’s operating system making it slow and unreliable.
If you have antispyware software installed on your PC, or a security suite that includes antispyware such as AVG Internet Security Home Edition, you can both scan for and isolate spyware that may be on your PC, stopping it from relaying informaton back to its fraudulent creator.
Q. What is phishing?
A. A fraudster will send an email to a large number of people claiming to be from a bank or other legitimate online business such as a shop or auction website. The email will usually contain a link to a fake but realistic, and credible looking website where the user will be asked to update personal information such as their passwords or account details which can then be used by the fraudster. Again, security suites that include anti-spam or anti-phishing components such as AVG Internet Security Home Edition can usually ensure that emails like this are moved to Junk or Spam folders in your email inbox.
Q. How common is Cyber Theft?
A. According to the results of an extensive independent survey of 2000 UK Internet users, released by AVG in October 2007 , as many as 3 in 10 people claimed to have experienced fraudulent behaviour over the Internet including fraudulent emails, credit card fraud, and unauthorised bank transfers.
Q. Should I be worried?
A. The AVG study shows that Cyber Theft is one of the UK’s most feared crimes with Brits believing themselves more susceptible to online fraudsters than any other criminals. According to research released in October 2007, 87% of Brits admit they are worried about the threat of cyber theft. However, AVG are doing what they can to help you combat Cyber Theft, and there are other organisations working nationally to help deal with Cyber Theft.
Follow the advice above, keep your PC secure and protected (and that protection updated), and you should have little to worry about.
All research results and statistics are property of AVG
