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5.0 out of 5 stars
Ounce of Prevention, January 23, 2001
By A Customer
I agree with other reviewers that Dotcons should be required reading for everyone using the Internet. A play on words describing how the new 'dot-com' technology has been co-opted by modern day con-artists, the book is a well-organized survey of the confidence games, fraud and deceit that exist on the Internet. It explains what the threats are, how Dotcon artists deceive you, how to recognize them, and what you can do to protect yourself. For an engineer, Jim Thomes, writes with the imagination and flare of a novelist. It is clear that he views the dot-com explosion of the last few years with some degree of caution when he argues that the rapid evolution of e-commerce on the Internet has outpaced our laws to regulate it! He claims the fast pace and anonymity of business transactions on the Internet have produced new opportunities for fraud as well as modern versions of old-fashioned confidence games that are appearing every day. Quoting Federal Trade Commission reports of over 500 complaints a day, Dotcons describes how both individuals and businesses are being routinely swindled out of millions of dollars by illegitimate businesses setting up off offshore out of the jurisdiction of the laws of civilized countries, brash young hackers manipulating your portfolio for fun and profit, technology-savvy entrepreneurs with questionable business plans raising billions in capital, and one-man shops masquerading as established businesses, taking your credit card, and then disappearing into cyberspace with little or no chance of apprehension. Dotcons not only warns about these frauds, but also explains how to recognize and deal with them -- Advance Fees, Business Ventures, Investments, On-line Auctions, E-Shopping, Travel Packages, Rebates, University Degrees, Counterfeit Identification, Fenced Goods, Sweepstakes, Contests, Gambling, Prescription Drugs and dozens more 'opportunities' that you will find on the Internet. Dotcons also addresses the privacy issues associated with using your credit card and personal identification on the Internet. Thomes coins the term 'Mass Privacide' when he asserts that violation of our privacy has become the norm while doing business on the Internet. He shows in detail how data mining scan websites, chatrooms, bulletin boards and e-mail for private financial data that is used to 'profile' you for manipulation by the media. The format of Dotcons is friendly: it has short, easy to understand examples of scams and simple directions to deal with them. But the message of Dotcons is strong -- a very serious attempt to solve a problem faced by millions of people all over the world who are being confronted every day with new and different electronic schemes to cheat them. Dotcons is an ounce of prevention that's probably worth a pound of cure for your pocketbook and privacy. I liked it, and it sure changed my habits on the Internet.
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