Tis the Season for Cyber Crime

The FBI is reminding everyone that as Christmas approaches Cyber Criminals "aggressively seek ways" to rob us blind…

Or at least fleece us of a few of our hard earned dollars.

Most of the computer crimes are the same old same old…

Malware located in greeting cards, fake websites, phishing and vishing attacks.

Phishing attacks occur when the bad guys use email solicitations or fake websites to get you to send them personal information.

Vishing is when they use Voice over IP (VOIP) to get your personal information.

In addition to using all the usually Internet con methods, the FBI says more folks are starting to receive online surveys which try to dupe you into giving our bank account or credit card information.

The survey scammers tell you that in appreciation for completing the survey they would like to thank you by depositing a credit into your account.

Of course the only one getting a credit into their account is the computer con who will take your personal information in order to make your money his money.

Shawn Henry, Assistant Director of the FBI Cyber Division, says we can all help fight cyber crime by reporting these scams to the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

The FBI offers up these tips to keep from being a victim of cyber fraud.

• Do not respond to unsolicited (spam) e-mail.
• Do not click on links contained within an unsolicited e-mail.
• Be cautious of e-mail claiming to contain pictures in attached files, as the files may contain viruses.
• Only open attachments from known senders.
• Avoid filling out forms in e-mail messages that ask for personal information.
• Always compare the link in the e-mail to the link that you are actually directed to.
• Log on to the official website, instead of "linking" to it from an unsolicited e-mail.
• Contact the actual business that supposedly sent the e-mail to verify if the e-mail is genuine.