I gasp at the mere thought of imagining to be a multimillion dollar magnate, if my e-mail inbox is any indication. My inbox is inundated with messages assuring me of millions of pounds as prize money. I am told to just divulge a few personal information for easy access to the huge fortune that waits to be tapped at the click of a mouse. How nice it would be if it really happened! But we have to hold our breath for a minute. Many such spam mails from addresses 'Irish Lottery Board', 'From the desk of XXX', 'Congratulations. You have won 15,000,00000£' etc. somehow manage to creep into my inbox with audacity.
Such enticing e-mails check our resistance to avarice and if only we have a frail mind to reveal our personal information to these guys, we are sure to have long lasting problem leaving our bank balance high and dry. It all started with a mail from Nigeria, which stated that I have been chosen for several millions of pounds of prize money that actually belonged to some political bigwig who died leaving behind a deed.
There were cases, where gullible public had reacted immediately to the mail and given their details. A few cases as explained by victims in India suggest that they were asked to deposit several lakhs of rupees as administration charges and bank charges to transfer the amount. Even without a basic thought that why a stranger should offer several millions of pounds, people have deposited the amount to the fraudster's bank account. And rest need not be deliberated. Had I opted to fall in the vicious trap, I would have faced similar tribulations of terrible financial loss.
Worst things happen in the internet, where cyber crimes like 'phishing',' identity thefts' and 'hacking' our e-mail accounts, virus downloads to cripple PCs happen with gay abandon. Clarion calls for online MLM (Multi Level Marketing) notwithstanding; it only helps a top few in the top of the pyramid and gives the majority a raw deal. Advertisers of products and novel launches of software that project fast bucks in the business fasten their grip on fickle minds.
Dr. Atul Prakash, Prof of Dept. of Electrical Engineering at University of Michigan and his team has some alarming news to offer. Their study on 214 financial institutions in 2006 found that nearly 75% of the websites of the institutions had at least one design flaw. Majority of bank websites had design related flaws, which allowed hackers to gain access to personal information and accounts. They found login boxes on insecure pages that allow hackers to reroute data of create a spoof copy to steal information.
Consider the following shocking fact. According to a recent Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Technology report, banks listed 536 cases of computer intrusion with an average loss of per incident of $30,000 and total losses in 2007 was close to a staggering $ US 16 million.
Not everybody is cyber savvy when it comes to technicalities of computer. This fact serves to spreading of awareness to remain alert regarding proxy usage of one's e-mail addresses for ignoble motives. To prove that I am innocent of the happening becomes my responsibility in case somebody misuses my e-mail accounts. However, a basic understanding of the physical aspect of the computer comes to our rescue in such an unpleasant situation.
A recent article in an Indian Daily suggested that we need to be aware of our MAC (Media Access Control) number, which is the address of the tangible computer which we use in our home. Though somebody might have 'phished' our e-mail ID for some anti-social mailing, we can still prove that it was not sent from our machine, and some unscrupulous element has sent it from some remote corner of the globe using our e-mail ID. This stems from the fact that the MAC number is unique for a system, though our IP address may be reflected in the mails sent by the hacker.
A basic understanding of computer systems, firewall protections, virus controls and other updated information of cyberspace seems to be the need of the hour and last but not the least, let's not fall into the evil designs of alluring calls over the internet in the scramble for making fast lucre. No Midas touch can ever prevail in reality.
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