Phishing Scams in Plain English

Online Identity Crime

The internet has introduced several new ways for identity thieves to access your personal information online; so while the ease of shopping and banking online may seem like a major time-saver, it has also put you at risk in many new ways.

Identity fraud can be committed by using identity numbers, a signature, name, address, phone numbers, banking and credit card information- almost any personal information can be used to help an criminal access your financial accounts and information.

Regulating Freedom of Expression Online

The right to freedom of expression is not absolute, and can be limited in some respects. The internet has revolutionised our ability to exercise this right, as well as the ability to interact with others and shares our views and thoughts.

However, the restrictions and responsibilities that come with the right to freedom of expression can often be ignored when our expressions are online- the ease at which we can publish online, and the extent of coverage available on any given topic or issue makes it significantly harder to monitor these restrictions and responsibilities than is possible in print and broadcast.

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LonelyBoy_16, SexyBitch21, eMoPrInCeSs, Cut3yPi3, Baby_Spice, and Oprah28475849 all have one thing in common- they are paedophiles. Okay, well maybe not paedophiles, perhaps they are all lonely, desk job individuals looking for conversation. Or maybe they are all high school kids looking to chat about the latest Twilight movie. Point is, with user IDs that allow you to keep your real identity anonymous, or allow you to reinvent your identity, you can never be certain who people are online.

Deborah Johnson, in her paper Ethics Online: Shaping social behaviour online takes more than new laws and modified edicts, points out how most social networks and online communication platforms make use of generic user Ids; the result of this is that the individual must make a concerted effort to establish their real identity- online communication seems to favour anonymity. The creation of different personas on discussion boards, blogs, email accounts, and social networks has both benefits and dangers, with the ethical question asking where we draw the line between protecting anonymity, and deceiving others.