If you believe all you read, then there are thousands of cyber-conmen out there waiting to strip you of your cash. At this very moment, someone could be hacking into a website to steal your credit card details.
And then, of course, there are your colleagues who are busy taking advantage of the net access offered to them through their work for their own gain and convenience, rather than their employers.
The web has brought with it new threats, but also new ways to show off your expertise and to get your products in front of a new audience.
Fraudbusters are no exception. There is a wealth of information on the web covering all manner of frauds, both new and traditional.
First stop on the fraud tour is the Serious Fraud Office, found at www.sfo.gov.uk.
The site is a useful backgrounder on the history of the SFO, what it does and how it can help you if you suspect someone is up to no good.
It sets out the criteria used by the SFO when it decides whether or not to become involved – to be considered serious, a fraud should involve more than #1m.
One interesting fact is the number of government agencies involved in fraud prevention, detection and prosecution, but it might have been a good idea to put in some links to the other organisations.
Over in the US, the National Fraud Information Centre, at www.fraud.org, has some interesting content and is a good source for information.
The NFIC was established in 1992 by the National Consumers League to fight the growing menace of telemarketing fraud by improving prevention.
Now the site covers a wide range of frauds, both new and old, and it would be time well spent looking at this site – if a fraud hasn’t got here yet, it will do soon.
There are a number of fraud investigation consultancies out there, but a good website can really mark them out from the competition.
One of the leading business investigators is Kroll Associates. Keeping up with the times, they can now go through the virtual dustbins for you.
The company’s site, found at www.krollworldwide.com, is very smart, has some very good war stories and clearly sets out the services on offer.
Control Risks Group’s website, www.crg.com, is likewise very clear, going into its services in detail. CRG take a slightly different tack, specialising in advising clients operating in hostile environments, but it still offers advice for those operating through the web (which can of course be a hostile environment itself).
But one of the most useful sites is the American-based www.scambusters.org.
Here you can find details of everyone known internet scam, and has a great page on ‘urban myth’ email chain letters.
So before you forward on the latest ‘Microsoft email tracking’ letter, check here to see if it is legitimate. It probably isn’t.
Analysis: Fraudsters get net benefits, page 6
OUR TOP FOUR SITES
www.fraud.org
Site of the US National Fraud Information Centre, aims to make consumers aware of current scams including those on the web.
***
www.krollworldwide.com
Sophisticated site for the famous ‘business intelligence’ consultancy – high quality presence with good information.
****
www.crg.com
Control Risks Group’s site, not exclusively for fraud, but worth a look for IT security and investigation services.
***
www.scambusters.com
Excellent site with hundreds of examples of web scams and those e-chain mails that clog up your system.
****.