Guest Editorial: online scams

Not everything you see online is what it seems.
The internet has revolutionised our society and expanded communication in ways that most of us could not have imagined 20 years ago.
People from everywhere on the planet share our interests, our passions, get our news, enter into endless debates, enjoy music, research any possible topic, with this amazing tool.
The speed of online uptake is amazing.
Facebook was opened to the public in September 2006.
By August 2008 there were 100 million users, by September 2009 300 million, by January this year, 600 million.
That much traffic makes it very appealing to scammers and cyber criminals.
It is important to remember though that Facebook is but one of millions of sites we use to interact with others.
We are all vulnerable to online scams, trickery, crime and breaches of our computer security.
It doesn't matter who we are, we can be duped and how humiliating when we are.
It is tempting to think that we can be "safe"' - that our security suites, common sense and our knowledge of vulnerabilities is quite adequate to stop us becoming a victim.
How many of us read the safety pages on a website before we sign up, before we act?
A scam is defined as a "confidence game or other fraudulent scheme, especially for making a quick profit" and we have become alot more resilient, as technology has become so commonplace, to some of the temptations offered.
If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
We are not going to respond to the message that says YOU HAVE WON $5 MILLION (when you didn't have a ticket in the Spanish Lottery) or that a long lost relative has died and a law firm has finally traced you to inherit the $20 million they left.
With the huge popularity of social networking sites, dating sites, instant communication sites, blogs, forums and so on, social engineering, scams, and identity theft are no longer so obvious.
Scammers operate in a much more targeted way, are more careful and very patient.
What happens when a friend emails me from overseas needing to borrow just a few hundred dollars for a week because they were mugged?
If it comes from a friend, from their email address, how likely am I to just go right ahead and help them out, or follow a link to an exciting new website they provide?
What about when we are offered a quite small amount as a refund from a genuine looking site - even a Government one. $3000, not $3 million.
My friend's email or social networking page could have been scammed, or one of their friends could have been scammed and all cascading contacts then be vulnerable.
You can't necessarily tell if your computer has been compromised and how can we know if all our contacts have sufficient and up-to-date security on their systems?
We're also vulnerable to very deliberate and targeted social engineering, where the scammers take time, patience and effort to establish an online friendship or relationship.
They may connect initially through a game site, through a community forum, through a friend of a friend on a social site, through an interest group, through a dating site. It isn't difficult for people to appear very genuine, very charming online.
By the time they ask for money (with a very plausible request) a high level of trust has been established and it can all seem perfectly reasonable.
Our resilience can be lowered when we are down, grieving, lonely, or isolated and consequently it can be difficult to talk about what has happened.
Callers to NetSafe are not naive or lacking in common sense, many thought they were being careful - so all the more distressing when they realise they have been duped.
They can feel humiliated, ashamed, betrayed, grieving the relationship which had developed, experiencing a loss of confidence in their personal judgment, and powerless.
We do have to remember the powerful positives of the online space as well as the possible pitfalls. People can be and are genuine online.
Exciting discoveries, enriching collaboration, lifelong relationships and impressive progress have been attained through online contacts.
And ... people are taken in, duped, fooled, hurt, and lose money.
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs estimates that upward of $400 million leaves NZ each year in scams.
Yes, that much.
We need to think carefully about that offer, about what other reasons there may be for someone making contact, what could be behind a new friendship, and most important take heed of any signs that may point to something not quite right, and if in any doubt at all stop and check it out.
Different types of scams are listed on the Ministry of Consumer Affairs website at www.scamwatch.govt.nz.  
NetSafe are available to give information and advice on queries@netsafe.org.nz or freephone 0508 NETSAFE and check out www.thescammachine.org.nz to raise awareness amongst your friends and family.
Lee Chisholm is the operations manager for Netsafe.