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at every turn. Most of these on-line gambling sites are totally unregulated. They operate offshore or from a location where there are few controls. The games can easily be rigged. These sites draw in people looking for the excitement of gambling and the hope of winning. Many of the players become compulsive or pathological gamblers in a short space of time and the extremely profitable gambling sites have an easy source of revenue.

On-line crime is more widespread than most people realise. One of the methods involves using viruses or spyware such as Trojans to steal personal information from your computer and pass it on to credit card and other fraudsters. Always ensure that you use a firewall and good anti-virus and anti-spyware protection to prevent theft from your computer.

There are a whole range of on-line scams available on the Internet. Many of these pose as get rich quick schemes. For a small fee you could be earning millions within a few weeks!

Then there are dating site scams. Criminals post false profiles with photographs of beautiful young girls keen to travel to meet you. After two emails they are ready to drop everything and travel to marry. But they don't have the money to do it. $10,000 will do the trick. Once you have paid, both the money and the girl disappear forever.

Then there are the phishing schemes. Fraudsters replicate sites such as PayPal or Citi Bank. An email arrives in your in-box informing you that your password has expired and must be renewed to prevent your details from being destroyed. The link on the email directs the victim to the scammer's site to update their personal information and password. The site is a perfect replica of the real thing. But one look at the url provides the best clue that this is a scam.

The so-called 419 scams have become quite common. In these there is usually a large sum of money tied up in a bank account in an African country. Your help is required to get the money out and of course you will be the lucky recipient of millions of US dollars. You are required to pay a facilitation fee for the money to be transferred. Many pay the fee and wait.

Obsessional use of the Internet can become a real problem for some people. Cases have been reported where Internet addiction is so bad that parents are left to die while the son obsessively played his Internet game.

As with all aspects of life, moderation is key. Common sense is one of the best defences against scammers and Internet crime. Good anti-virus and anti-spyware protection is essential. Children should be encouraged to play outdoors rather than spending all their time on the Web! Used wisely and with caution, the Internet can provide great benefits.

Learn more about this author, Barry Marcus.
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