Your ID for sale online

Cybercriminals could earn as much as £4,500 per week ripping off innocent surfers, according to experts.

And it isn't just master hackers and abnormally intelligent whizz-kids who can expect these returns thanks to the easy availability of 'phishing kits' on the internet.

Symantec's Internet Security Threat Report has revealed a seedy underworld of online criminals that is becoming increasingly professional.

The crime of 'phishing', where your personal details are obtained by fraudulent means online, is booming, with the gangs behind it selling personal data for as little as 25p a time.

Lee Sharrocks of Symantec said: "The internet underworld is growing at an alarming rate, with the latest trends showing that the growth of black market auction sites is continuing to increase.

"With the introduction of software toolkits to provide access to the technology needed to become involved in these identity scams, we can only expect this trend to continue to grow, so the need for consumer vigilance is higher than ever," continued Sharrocks.

Symantec's Kevin Hogan told Web User that phishing kits are being sold relatively openly on the internet, if you know where to look.

"The tools themselves have become much slicker and more professional-looking," Hogan said, adding that many scams are now no longer characterised by poor spelling and grammar, making them harder to spot.

Hogan also revealed to Web User that malware authors seem to be leaving Microsoft's latest operating system Windows Vista alone, at least for the while.

"There's not much [malware] activity on platforms other than Windows 2000 and Windows XP," he said.

www.symantec.com

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