Cyber Crime and Why You Could Be Next

Unless you’ve had a personal experience with hacking or identity theft, it can be difficult to realize the reality and gravity of the problem.  Because the threat is intangible – we can’t ‘see’ it or ‘touch’ it – it’s easy to disregard as one of those things that “happens to celebrities, but won’t happen to me”.

The unfortunate truth though is that it DOES happen to people exactly like you and me.  You don’t have to be targeted to be victimized.  In fact, every 3 seconds someone’s identity is stolen online.

Cyber crime is a profitable business, and one that can be performed on a leisurely schedule from the comfort of one’s home.  So profitable in fact that it has surpassed illegal drug trafficking as a felonious moneymaker.  We play a large part in this phenomenon.  How?

We treat online forums and communities like a stage, and our “friends” are our audience.  But who lurks amongst those friends?

Our inherent need to be seen and be heard makes it all the easier for cyber criminals to gather precious information that they can exploit.  What do I mean by this?  Well, most of us are pretty eager to share – frequently personal – details via email or with our online “friends” about our families, where we work, perhaps even where we live, the possessions we have and acquire, and trips we plan to take.  Some of us even post our original works of art.

Watch the video below produced by Norton and you will see what I mean:

Be aware that if you:

• blog it
• post it
• instant message it
• PIN message it
• email it
• SMS it
• or even talk about it on your cell phone

it is not secured, and it is most certainly not private.  Encrypt whenever possible, refrain from divulging when it’s not.

To help you take a step towards online privacy, we’re giving away FREE downloads of our email encryption software for BlackBerry smartphones, all day long.  Just click HERE, select the product you want, and don’t forget to use promo code: DPD2010.