• Phishing emails - Top of the list is bank account fraud - hackers get their access to account details by sending you emails with malicous links and programs. Unknown to the user these programs can run freely in the background.
• Non-investment Fraud - When investors pay for something they dont get.
• Virus or malware - Your computer has been infected and is controlled by a virus. They can be transmitted through emails and unencrypted messages. I only recently removed a virus for a customer and the skill of the creators of these viruses has greatly improved. Normal malware programs will not work and they infect files on your registry system which can cause huge problems, they can corrupt your entire hard drive leading to the ultimate doom. These changes however can be reversed with the right know how and software.
• Hacking - Surprising that hacking is so low but then again the consequences of hacking has got so high and these figures are based on the UK only.
• Payment Fraud - When you get asked for a small fee promised the world and you get nothing back, also known as the Nigerian prince scam. Obviously payment fraud emails have got a lot more advanced since then, take a look at the current PayPal scam below.

So thats the top 5 but when I investigated further figures released in England and Wales from the Home Office reveal that the number one online crime is Harrassment and stalking. A bit of slagging is always fun but some take it too far and keyboard warriors are still very real. The younger generation are the most vunerable so it always good to keep a close eye on them when it comes to any online business. Stalking - well there are plenty of freaks out there so I wouldn't be sharing every litle detail in a hurry or if your a social media addict at least use snapchat!

Those crimes affect us all but what about businesses. The attacks of businesses in UK and Ireland has almost doubled from 2012. When you think of the biometrics being used now in daily life - finger recognition in your phone, laptop and in cars you would think security is only increasing but the stats prove otherwise. Why is this the case? Well there are a number of reasons why but mainly because businesses are taking shortcuts and do not have the right security measures in place. When I was working for an eCommerce business a while ago I seen at first hand how important online security is and how real online fraud can be. These experiences have helped me develop secure systems based on encrypted methods to ensure every business is protected.