'Online fraud at highest level ever in UK - study'

Tens of millions of British internet users have been targeted by scams in the past year, the Telegraph report, citing research by life assistance company CPP. Seven out of ten internet users, or some 38.5 million people, have regularly seen "e-scams" in their inboxes over the last 12 months, which means online fraud is at its highest level ever. Almost 80 percent said they received fake banking or online shopping emails while 70 percent have been hit with bogus pleas for money and 67 percent said they had been told they had won a competition only to find out it was a sham. Experts say that cunning fraudsters are even posing as friends or family members to con victims. CPP identity fraud expert Michael Lynch said cyber criminals target identity details in order to sell them on to another person."Your identity is your most valuable possession and it's getting much easier for fraudsters to trick unsuspecting internet users. The cyber criminal won't necessarily steal your money, they will sell your details on to another person so it can be a very profitable business for them." Lynch said to be careful of emails from unknown sources. "Also if you receive an email from your bank or from an online shopping source like PayPal - which counts for 80 per cent of phishing - or eBay that looks a bit funny, be aware," Lynch said. He said the bogus emails can be very convincing and re-direct users to sites that look almost identical to the genuine ones. He stressed the importance of up-to-date anti-virus software, an active firewall and signing up for an Identity Fraud protection policy. Even high profile celebrities aren't immune to this type of crime with recent online fraud targets including comedians Harry Hill and Ricky Gervais and Chelsea footballer Didier Drogba.

Distributed for DMeurope.com via M2 Communications (www.m2.com)

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