Cybercrime in Sports and How to Defend Yourself

What Is Cybercrime?

Cybercrime, also termed as computer crime, is nothing but an illegal activity that primarily involves a computer and network-connected device, for example, a mobile phone. Cybercrime basically encompasses any form of criminal act that deals with computers and their networks (called hacking). Examples of common cybercrimes include fraud, scam schemes, credit card account theft, identity theft etc. According to Convention on Cybercrime (the very first international treaty that addresses internet and computer crime), cybercrime includes a wide variety of malicious activities, such as illegal interception of data and system interferences which compromise network availability, integrity, and copyright infringements etc. Other forms of cybercrime are illegal gambling, selling of illegal items (weapons and drugs) and counterfeit goods, and the solicitation/production/distribution of child pornography.

With the rapid growth, popularity, and usage of the internet, the volume of cybercrime activities has significantly increased over the past few years. Cybercrime is committed by criminal organizations, individuals, and small groups at an unprecedented scale. In cybercrimes, the perpetrator and the victim may never come into a direct contact; rather, victims and perpetrators are separated by thousands of miles. Additionally, to reduce the chances of prosecution and detection, unscrupulous cyber criminals mostly choose to operate in those countries that do not have any strict, stringent cybercrime laws.

Cybercrime in Sports

Unfortunately, the sports industry is also vulnerable to cyber attacks. In fact, the numbers of online threats in the sports industry have evolved with the rapid advancement of technology. For your reference, a brief rundown of various online scams (related to sporting events) is given below:

I) 2008 Beijing Olympics: Many victims lost huge amounts of money as they purchased tickets from a fraudulent Beijing Olympics website. It was a phishing site which stole their credit card details & other personal information.

II) 2010 FIFA World Cup: During 2010 FIFA World Cup, one fake email referring to the fraudulent contest “Final Draw” was circulated (with a tempting $550,000 USD prize). As a result, the victim was enticed into providing out his personal information to complete a fund transfer.

III) London 2012 Olympic Games: Similar to 2010 FIFA World Cup sporting event, a spam campaign deceived several users through email. The victims were informed that they had won a contest i.e. “2012 London Olympics Lottery”. And, to claim the grand winning prize of this contest, the victims were asked to share their personal details (including online banking information).

IV) World Cup 2014 Brazil: Starting from injecting Trojans to adware and phishing attacks, cybercriminals did not waste time in capitalizing a highly-anticipated football tournament i.e. World Cup 2014 that was organized in Brazil. And, ordinary users and fans were tricked into disclosing sensitive details including personal and financial information through phishing websites, spammed emails, search engines, and fake apps.

How to Defend Yourself?

In the previous sections, you have revealed how cybercriminals are constantly striving to steal away your personal and confidential information (without your knowledge). That’s why you are recommended to use Norton antivirus basic software that defends your computer against ransomware, spyware, malware, viruses, & other online threats. In fact, its advanced security feature really helps protect your private, personal, and financial information whenever you go online. Norton antivirus basic software also boasts of using world’s largest global civilian intelligence network in order to spot online threats faster (before they can harm your PC).

Symantec Security

Symantec Inc., the leading internet security software manufacturer and partner of Premier Global Sports, has been distributing Norton since 1991. Norton is a line of internet security products for both individuals and organizations. For example, Norton antivirus basic is an antivirus that offers a complete security suite to protect devices against spyware, viruses, malware and other online threats. Its basic features are:

I) Industry-leading protection at an affordable price

II) Automatic “silent” updates always ensure that you have the most up-to-date protection

III) Defends against all types of online threats

Finally, Symantec has also issued a number of discount coupons for the Norton line. Norton coupons are available online for free. The average discount a Norton promo code gives is about 25%. For example, initially the price of Norton antivirus was $49.99 but with qetes.com users can subscribe at just $19.99.

Source SportDaily