The Internet can be described as the Wild West of today and as with all new frontiers there are baddies & fraudsters, looking to make a quick buck from the innocent and hard working people who venture into this brave new land.

So before you head of into the wild west make sure you are adequately prepared for your journey so that you can reduce the chances of falling foul to the Internet fraudsters.

1) MAKE SURE your computer has the latest virus protection and you are running a firewall. If you are using windows XP then this comes with its own firewall otherwise download Zone Alarm free version for maximum protection. What does a firewall do? In simple terms it stops programs from accessing the internet and other people from gaining access to your computer from the internet. Without a firewall your computer is like a house with all its windows and doors open. If you don't lock them, then sooner or later some one is going to break in and steel all your belongings. The firewall locks all your open doors & windows and monitors the flow of traffic in and out of any openings.

BUY the latest virus software such as Norton Anti Virus, you wouldn't put a cheap lock on your front door, so don't do the same for your computer. Your computer can hold sensitive and personal information such as accounts, bank details, private pictures in fact your computer can hold a complete profile of your life and by using second rate virus protection you are making it easier for the fraudsters to take this information and use it for their own good.

2) Read my article on safe Internet shopping.

3) Fake / Junk / Scam emails - As soon as you get an email account you will start to receive junk email. Most email companies such as Yahoo & Hotmail have very good filters to weed out this junk mail but as quick as they can block it, the people behind the junk emails find a way to beat the filters. If you shop online, have an EBay account, PayPal account or bank account then I will guarantee that you will get fake emails and so I have compiled a list of the common categories that these emails fall into to :-

1. You have won a lottery email Internet fraud - This scam is very cleaver in that it dupes you into believing that you have just won a large sum of money from a European / American / any country and that in order to claim your prize all you have to do is contact the organizers. DON'T DO IT because you will end up out of pocket and red faced. How? At some point throughout the process of claiming your prize you will be asked for an administration fee (the sting) and once you pay, you have just become another victim and the only winners are the fraudsters who are laughing all the way to the bank. Examples

2. "My late husband / Father / Mother / Client has died and left me x millions of dollars in a secret account and I need your help in getting this money" email Internet fraud. This email comes in many disguises but all have the single intention of taking you for a long and costly ride at your expense! Every body loves a deal and most of us would jump at the chance to make some serious money, especially when it looks so easy to get. But this couldn't be further from the truth. As soon as you respond to this email you will be hooked as these fraudsters have fine tuned their sales pitch and will convince you that they really do have the money and that you will soon be a very rich person. I can assure you that the only one getting rich out of this scam is the scammer and at your expense. How it works? You will be asked to provide funds for legal fees, bank fees, travel, medicals, you name it as long as you keep paying they will keep on inventing the charges until eventually the penny drops and you realize that you are never going to see the money. No matter how convincing these emails look, do not respond to them. Examples

3. Bank Account / Internet Bank account / EBay account / PayPal account email Internet fraud. This Internet scam is designed to capture people new to online banking / shopping and its sole aim is to get your password and user details so that the the fraudsters can drain your bank account or abuse your EBay / shopping account. How it works? You will receive a very convincing email stating that your account has been broken into, attempted to be broken into, suspended, details changed, they have lost some of your details, a payment has been made / sent from your account and so on. The one thing that will be common in all these emails is a link to your account, only this link will not go to your account but instead to a fake page set up to look exactly the same as your real account login. You log in as usual only this time you will be told that the site is down or being maintained and can you please come back later. By the time you come back they have entered your account and plundered it. If you are not sure about any email of this type then go to your account through your browser as you normally would and log in. Most online banking / shopping services run their own messaging service once you log in and any important messages about your account will be shown here. Examples

4. Free porn, Free Viagra / Offer to good to be true email. This email will offer you something for free or a product at unbelievable prices. Be assured that it really will be to good to be true! and the emails offering free porn will send you to a page that will contain a virus. Remember there is no such thing as a free lunch!

4) Clear your Internet History and remove cookies on a regular basis. Ever sat there wondering how fraudsters get your details? Every time you visit a page, you store this information on your computer, cookies can hold your email details, name or even passwords. Cleaver programmers can design websites that look innocent but in the background they are reading this information and storing it so that the next time you check your email you get a message addressed to you with details of products that you have looked at previously. Remember information is every thing on the net and so the less info you give the harder it is for fraudsters to act. How to clear your history.

5) Never pay by Western Union or similar money transfer system for goods or services. This method of paying can not be traced if your transaction goes wrong and is the most commonly used method for defrauding people, so don't do it. If they don't use a service such as PayPal then keep away.

6) Keep your virus software up to date and run a scan at least once a week. I know it is tedious so schedule it to scan during your favourite TV program or while you are eating. Allow for about 40 to 60 minutes for a full scan depending on how many files you have on your computer.

7) Use a secure password - Do not be tempted to use a common name or well known phrase when selecting a password. The safest type is a combination of capital / small letters and numbers and should not be shorter then 7 characters i.e. T78jH71

There are thousands of variations on the scams that I have listed but almost all follow a pattern of :-

1. Extracting money from you at some point.
2. Obtaining your Username & password details.

My golden rule is if you are not sure then leave it alone, If you won a prize then why are you being asked to pay? and most important of all - Use your common sense

Useful links to help prevent and learn about fraud on the Internet :-

• Millersmiles.co.uk - comprehensive list of recent email scams including scans of the actual emails.
• United States Secret Service information on Internet fraud carried out by the Nigerians.
• Internet Fraud Watch - Another good guide on preventing Internet fraud & also looks at other areas of fraud.
• Internet Crime Prevention Center - A partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center