Today, almost all hacking is done by professional criminals. In many countries, illegal hacking accounts for more crime, dollar-wise, than noncomputer crime. The United Kingdom recently joined that club.
Why is this important? First, if you find malware on your system, there’s a good chance it’s trying to steal your money. Second, no one is getting arrested anytime soon. If you lose anything to cybertheft, don’t expect to get it back — most cybercriminals operate in foreign countries outside U.S. legal jurisdiction.
A friend’s Facebook account got hacked last weekend, probably because he gave up his password in response to a fake Facebook email. The hacker used my friend’s account to say hello to his Facebook friends and trick them into installing malware or sending money. My friend sent threatening emails to the hackers, telling them they messed with the wrong person and he would spend his last red cent making sure they got arrested. I have no doubt he gave them a good laugh.
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