Got scammed on the net? You're not alone

Internet fraud doubled in cost last 2009 to about $560 million. Which means that we should be more vigilant with whom we trust especially on the world wide web. Always remember to not ever give out any personal and financial information over anonymous emails. It is a given fact that legitimate companies will only ask for personal information from you once and that is when you sign up with them.

The amounts taken from unsuspecting victims range from around $30 to $100,000. Regardless of the amount being asked and the promised return of your investment always make a background check first or research about the offer on Google.

Reports say that complaints increased up to 20% last 2009 totaling to about 300,000 complaints 16% of which involves scams falsely using the FBI's name. The most common of which is through email, as I stated before, always remember to never give any information over emails to persons you don't personally. Be wary even to persons you have just met.

For example, one popular scam last year involved a phone pitch made by someone who sounded a lot like President Barack Obama. The recorded message told people to visit a Web site to get government stimulus money. When victims who visited the site entered personal information and paid $28 in fees, they were promised a big stimulus check, but got nothing.

What is facebook good for?

It's now safe to say the facebook is a social networking site. Do you know why? Their tag line is "Giving people the power to share and make the world more open and connected." What a noble pursuit.

With facebook you can do the following;

1. Create your own online profile which can be viewed by everyone in the entire world or just your friends. Be careful when sharing personal data on the web, you'll never know who will use it. Don't want to see your name written on some porn site without your consent, do you? I thought so, I know that you wouldn't really care because chances are it is already there.
2. Know people throughout the world. Yeah, yeah... I know this is common already but it is true that you can get to know people throughout the world using facebook but chances are that you'll never meet them so try to go out once in a while. It helps when you can actually touch somebody.
3. Share your ideas instantly. Facebook gives you the capability to display your "status" where you can post videos, pictures, links to websites you like or just plain text such as "I am using facebook." By the way, don't ever say that "I am using facebook" line on your status. You'll end up looking retarded. 
4. Join groups ranging from hobbyists, religious and political groups. Facebook allows you to make groups of your own and you can make one for any particular reason. You can make a group with your name on it and no one will care. I mean that literally, no one will join your group at least no one will join willingly unless of course your like famous or something.
5. Chat with friends on Facebook. What makes facebook chat convenient is that its easy to use and very user friendly. Just look for the "chat" button on the lower right corner of the site, click on it and see who among your friends are online and bother them.