4. Fraud

Fraud means trying to trick someone in order to gain an advantage.

For your GCSE course, we are mainly concerned with fraud which takes place using ICT.

There are a number of other cases where computer fraud can be committed in order to make some kind of financial gain. Some of the most common forms of computer fraud include:

• Posing as someone from an official organisation such as a bank or electricity company in order to get you to hand over your account details.

• Creating 'spoof' websites that look like the real thing. For example, making a website that looks exactly like your bank's, then getting you to enter your user name and password so that they can be recorded by the fraudster.

• Promising a 'get rich quick' scheme if you pay for a pack, which will supposedly contain all of the details that you need.

• Phishing - sending e-mails to get you to give over your personal or account details or getting you to download a data keylogger

• Stealing your identity in order to pose as you to steal your money or some other criminal activity.