Worrying or an ironic indicator of progress? Most likely both. Cyber crimes have jumped "exponentially" in Malaysia in the last two years.
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Over 3,500 incidents of online crime were reported just in the first quarter of this year, The Star, a Malaysian daily, reported.
Last year's tally of reported cyber crimes stood at about 8,000 cases, said CyberSecurity Malaysia chief operating officer Zahri Yunos.
"The cases have increased exponentially," he said, pointing to the increase in Internet usage and broadband penetration as factors driving the spike. (Broadband penetration is currently at 55%)
More than a third (36%) of cases reported during the first quarter of 2011 involved online fraud, Zahri said. Phishing and identity theft are included in this category.
"Phishing sites targeting local banks have also increased, with 400 sites detected for the first quarter of this year compared to 900 last year," he said.
Our advice? Ensure and check if websites are legitimate before submitting any personal information on or through them. A tell-tale sign of a fraudulent website is often an odd or fishy URL.
Also, ensure personal information posted on social networking sites are viewable only by people you trust.
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