Scams threaten online commerce

The online threats associated with using the Internet remain high according to Consumer Reports’s latest “State of the Net” survey. Consumer Reports projects that U.S. consumers lost more than $7 billion over the last two years to viruses, spyware, and phishing schemes. Additionally, the “State of the Net” survey shows that consumers face a 1 in 4 chance of succumbing to an online threat and becoming a cybervictim, a number that has slightly decreased since last year. Based on the survey, Consumer Reports projects that problems caused by viruses and spyware resulted in damages of at least $5 billion replacement over the past two years