Online identity theft

Bibliogr. s. 225

Online identity theft is one of the perils almost every Internet user is put at. Not every Internet user is on a daily basis likely to be aware of the fact that his personal data may be obtained and exploited for various purposes by other people on the Internet, which is why it is worth asking yourself whether an 'average' Internet user is aware of the risk of stealing his or her online identity. Usually, most Internet users do sense that the data published on the Internet is not fully protected and unavailable to other Internet users. They, however, do not know the details concerning online financial frauds, stealing of bank account passwords and personal data, or different aspects, techniques and methods of manipulation thanks to which a crime can take place. Stealing data, passwords etc. turns out to be a tool for achieving not necessarily moral goals. You can try to prevent it by proper education. With the help of an anonymous survey created to address the problem, research was done on a group of students who use the Internet. The research shows that the existing risk of 'selling' one's own identity to others does not interest young people to an extent which would make them capable of avoiding not only financial costs but also psychological fallout which often affect the victims of such thefts.