Internet fraud is not only on the rise, but it is accelerating. The variety of scams continues to develop in complexity and effectiveness, leaving the casual user ever more vulnerable to personal loss, while law enforcement appears to be mostly unprepared to handle the sudden and massive burden of new, difficult-to-investigate crimes. The best defense against crime, however, has remained unchanged since the dawn of civilization: personal responsibility and preparation. Below are the top three scams, but there are far more than these. Lottery Winnings: Emails claiming that the recipient has won money generate enough excitement to cloud a person's judgment. They may ask for cash to cover the taxes before the money can be released, but taxes are the winner's responsibility to pay after the money is received, and are only paid to the winner's government. They might also request bank account numbers for a wire transfer. Undelivered Auction Goods: Beware of extended shipping delays when purchasing anything online. A purchaser is protected from fraud for a short time—usually only two to four weeks. If a seller succeeds in delaying past this time, then the buyer has no recourse if the item is never sent. Phishing: Phishing (pronounced "fishing") is an attempt to obtain information and money by masquerading as an authentic entity. For example, an email that looks like it came from PayPal.com says that your account has been accessed by an unknown party. It asks you to follow the link to log in and identify any account activity that you did not authorize. When the link is clicked, the following page looks like PayPal's website, but it is, in fact, a fake, and any information, such as user name and password, are simply saved to be used later by thieves in an attempt to defraud. A different and common spin on the phishing scam states that it is from a foreign government (usually Nigeria) regarding one of the following: disbursement of finances to the benefactor of a will, accusation of contract fraud, requests for help converting funds, or receipt of grant money. Unfortunately, there are many others. New scams are invented every day. Be a savvy surfer, not a gullible victim. The best protection is to think logically and skeptically; these skills come with experience and knowledge. Educate yourself.
網路詐騙的案件不僅愈來愈多，甚至還有加快的趨勢。詐騙手段變得越來越複雜、高明，漫不經心的使用者一不小心就會失財，而法律似乎也還沒準備好處理這些突如其來、重大、既新穎又難偵辦的罪行。然而，從文明時代初期開始，預防犯罪的最佳方法一直未曾改變：個人的責任和準備措施。以下為三種最常見的詐騙手法，但其實還有更多。 中樂透：以電子郵件的方式告知收件人贏得獎金，會激發足以矇蔽判斷能力的興奮感。在頒發獎金前，詐騙集團可能會先要求支付稅金。但是，稅金應是中獎人領取獎金後才須支付的，支付的對象也應該是該國政府。同時，它們可能還會要求提供銀行帳戶以便進行轉帳。 拍賣商品未寄出：在網路上買東西，要特別注意延誤交貨的情況發生。買家免於受騙的時間很短，通常只有二至四個星期。一旦賣家超出了這段時間，買家便無法知道商品是否已寄出。 網路釣魚：網路釣魚是指藉由冒充真實網站，企圖取得資訊和金錢。舉例來說，一封像是由 PayPal.com 所寄出的電子郵件聲稱你的帳戶遭到不名人士入侵，要求你進入下面的連結並且登入，以確認哪些是未經過認證的活動。進入下面的連結，你會發現那個網站看起來很像是PayPal 的網站，但實際上卻是冒充的，而使用者名稱和密碼等任何資訊都會被儲存起來，以便之後進行盜用。自稱是外國政府（通常是奈及利亞）則是另一種常見的網釣詐騙，常與下列事情有關：遺囑受益人的付款、合約詐騙的指控、轉換資金的請求，或是鉅款的收據。不幸的是，還有許多其他的手法。 詐騙手段每天不斷翻新，你我都要做一個明智的網路使用者，而不是容易上當的受害者。最佳的保護方法就是用懷疑、邏輯的態度去思考。不過，這些技巧還需要一些經驗和教育程度，因此要好好充實自己。
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