Protect Yourself if something Goes Wrong Online
If your computer gets hacked or infected by a virus:
- Immediately disconnect your machine from the Internet. Then scan your entire computer with fully updated anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and update your firewall.
- If your computer is infected and you can't get it to recover any other way, you can buy software to “wipe” (erase) the hard drive. You'd then have to reinstall the operating system and any other files you wish to use.
- Alert the appropriate authorities by contacting:
- Your ISP and the hacker's ISP (if you can tell what it is). You can usually find an ISP's e-mail address on its website. Include information on the incident from your firewall's log file. By alerting the ISP to the problem on its system, you can help it prevent similar problems in the future.
- The FBI To fight computer criminals, the FBI needs to hear from you.
If you are a victim of Internet fraud:
If a scammer takes advantage of you through an Internet auction, when you're shopping online, or in any other way, report it to the Federal Trade Commission.
The FTC enters Internet, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel — a secure online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law-enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
If you receive deceptive “spam” e-mails:
If you get deceptive spam, including e-mail phishing for your information, forward it to spam@uce.gov. Be sure to include the full header of the e-mail, including all routing information.
You also may report phishing e-mail to reportphishing@antiphishing.org. The Anti-Phishing Working Group — a group of ISPs, security vendors, financial institutions and law enforcement agencies — uses these reports to fight phishing.
If you think you may have mistakenly given your personal information to a fraudulent individual or company:
- File a complaint at ftc.gov.
- Call Jerry Ivy with ANB at (806) 378-8130.
