A survey conducted in the UK preceding the Get Safe Online Week revealed that one in five UK Internet users fell victims to online scams, while one third of them were affected by computer viruses in the past year. According to the experts at the GetSafeOnline project, the compromised identity of a UK citizen, which is valued at $120 on the black market, could earn fraudsters an average of $22,000.

GetSafeOnline is a non-profit organization that aims at raising awareness regarding Internet safety. Their website contains recommendations and information for users interested in protecting their identities while surfing the web. “We are actively encouraging more people to go online, but in doing so, to ensure that they are safe and secure. We want to draw attention to the fact that online criminal activity can be a sophisticated business, but that each of us can take steps to prevent ourselves from becoming a victim,” explained Tony Neate, managing director of GetSafeOnline.

The study that was commissioned for the Get Safe Online Week campaign outlines the improvements and concerns regarding Internet security practices. With 58% of UK Internet users shifting their banking activity online and 64% of them doing online shopping, the risk of identity theft is bigger than ever.

The report (PDF) showed that while 85% of Internet users had an antivirus application installed on their systems, almost half of them don't update it as often as they should. In addition, while 77% of them deployed a firewall solution, only 53% run anti-phishing software. Even if some of these results reflect improvements over 2007, they are still worrying considering that the use of such software represents only basic protection against identity theft.

“Software alone is not sufficient, however. Our own behaviour and decisions online can put us at increased risk,” say the experts. Regarding user habits, the survey revealed that 17% of UK Internet users admitted to opening e-mail attachments from unknown sources, 23% of them disclosed personal information on social networking websites and 66% use the same password for different online services.

“Some recent attacks have seen the personal data of more than 45 million individuals being compromised. With the right tools – which can be easily obtained online if you know what you are looking for – basic data can be translated into hard cash,” warned Sharon Lemon, Head of e-Crime at UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). Money is not the only thing online crooks are after, but your computing potential as well. “If your computer is compromised, criminals may use it to spread their malware, generate spam, host illegal content, perpetuate click fraud and launch attacks against websites,” pointed out Cliff Evans, Head of Security & Privacy for Microsoft UK.

The GetSafeOnline project is “a joint initiative between HM Government, the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), HSBC, Microsoft, Cable & Wireless, PayPal and Symantec,” and tackles the issue of online security and consumer protection. The loss of personal data resulting from computer systems being compromised is a serious problem, which escalated in 2008, making researchers call it the year of identity theft. Tens or even hundreds of millions of personal records were disclosed in 2008 during security breaches that affected a wide array of educational, health, financial and governmental institutions.