Nevada in Top 10 for Cyber Crime

Posted: May 11, 2010 4:06 PM PDT

 

Video Gallery - Nevada in Top 10 for Cyber Crime

 

LAS VEGAS -- Surfing the web may be part of your everyday routine, but criminals are finding new ways to steal your personal information or infect your computer with a nasty virus. For local businesses, it could mean thousands of dollars lost.

 

Nevada is one of the top 10 states for cyber crime.

It's easy to be fooled into clicking something on the internet that you think is safe. Wells Fargo is a good example. There are criminals out there using their logo and name to steal your information. But you can protect yourself.

 

Sue Gaines is the office manager at a commercial real estate company. In the past year, they've had to fend off viruses and trojans all because someone clicked on something they weren't supposed to. Fixing it doesn't come cheap. "We either have to hire somebody to do it for us or we have to go out and buy a new computer," she said. "When one of these agents doesn't have their computer to do their email, their contracts, it's like that is their lifeline. Production goes way down."

 

Nevada's Fight Fraud Task Force says viruses and phishing scams have increased in the last year, but Curt Miller from IT company Anexeon says criminals promise you a good deal, but will teach you a valuable lesson instead. "It's a game or something that is going to speed up your internet or do something that it promises to do and in some cases, it promises to get rid of spyware and in reality it's spyware," he said. That's why Miler is offering a free community class on how to spot a fake domain name. He says spotting the scams before it's too late could save local businesses thousands. "The companies are the ones paying for the one employee that keeps clicking on the wrong thing," he said.

 

After working with Miller, Gaines trained her office employees and believes it will pay off.