Online criminals target children

Organised crime has gone online in an attempt to scam parents who use internet banking on the same computers their children surf the web on, authorities warn.

Netsafe executive director Martin Cocker said cyber criminals were cashing in on the popularity of social networking sites, often frequented by children or teens, in order to steal confidential information.

Criminals send out mass messages, often personalised, asking people to click on links which take the user to a site that infects the computer with malware short for malicious software such as keyloggers which record logins and passwords.

Police electronic crime national manager Maarten Kleintjes said organised crime outfits were "getting into bed" with technical people and becoming more hi-tech, creating software directed at targeting home computers used for trading and internet banking.

"Before it was drugs, now it's the internet," Mr Kleintjes said.

Attacks by cyber criminals, often based "where Western law enforcement have least effect", such as eastern Europe, were increasing. "People often don't even know that their passwords have been captured."

Mr Cocker said: "It tries to get people to click on links that could say, `Download this, it's a fun game,' or `Go here for a video'... all you need is for people to click on the link."

People had to understand the risks. "They operate a scatter-gun approach so the messages are broad but specific enough so some of the people who receive it, it fits with them."

People continued to let their guard down on the internet compared to other locations.

"There's a phenomenon that people have never really fully come to understand about the web: we do tend to be very trusting of what we see that comes through to our computer."

There was "no logical explanation" for the complacency, he said.

"We should understand that's the easiest place to trick us, the easiest place to falsify information. But for some reason that hasn't caught on. "

Almost all malware was avoidable, provided security settings were up to date and people were educated on the risks.

HOW TO STAY SAFE:

Educate children not to reply to unsolicited emails and messages, and about the dangers of people on the internet pretending to be someone else. Install security software that is kept up to date, and covers anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Ensure every piece of software on the computer is up to date, not only the operating system such as Windows, but also the browser, email and all the programs.

- © Fairfax NZ News