Cell phones have evened the score when it comes to long-distance phone service. Because of minute-based plans, most cell phone services charge the same rate whether someone is dialing a number down the street or across the country. However, some people only carry a cell phone for emergency purposes, while some others choose not to carry a cell phone at all.

This is a predicament for families and friends who may be spread out over the miles, or for a small business owner looking to grow his or her company. Vonage, the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone provider, has a solution with its Virtual Phone Number service.

Virtual Phone Numbers can be set up in the area the subscriber is targeting in order for their callers to be able to use a local number. This gives the callers a local dialing option without the expense of setting up a toll-free number. Vonage subscribers can choose as many virtual phone numbers as they need in any of the specified locations available for a low monthly fee. Some examples of uses for Virutal Phone Numbers include:

• If grandparents have retired and moved out of state, a Vonage customer can set up a Virtual Phone Number for them to call a local number instead of calling long distance.
• In the 704 area code surrounding Charlotte, North Carolina, phone calls within the area code may sometimes still be considered long distance. A Virtual Phone Number could be set up to reach out to potential clients of a growing business outside of the local calling area, but still close enough to be served by the business.
• A college student is studying abroad can dial a local number that is automatically forwarded to home.

There are two different plans for Virtual Phone Numbers, all dependent upon which location the subscriber is trying to reach. For a one-time activation fee of $9.99, a Virtual Phone Number can be set up for $4.99 per month to the following areas:

• United States
• Canada
• Puerto Rico
• Mexico City
• United Kingdom
• Australia
• New Zealand
• South Africa

Virtual Phone Numbers can be activated for a one-time fee of $9.99 and a monthly fee of $9.99 to the following locations:

• France
• Spain
• Ireland
• Italy
• Panama
• Buenos Aries, Argentina
• Rio de Janeiro and Curitiba, Brazil
• Santiago, Chile
• Athens and Thessaloniki, Greece
• Bialystok, Krakow, Rzeszow, and Warsaw, Poland
• Bucharest, Romaina

Although there is a small charge for these services, it’s a far cry better than the cost of setting up toll-free numbers, calling internationally over regular long-distance services, or the hassle of using calling cards.

Plus, with Vonage World plan, many international calling destinations are included into a flat monthly fee, and all others are really cheap, starting from only 1 cents per minute.

Just like their real-world counterparts, cybercriminals are opportunistic. They rely the latest fads or fears of the general public in order to gain the confidence of their unsuspecting targets. They also use the time of year to capitalize on situations where people may rely on the Internet to take care of e-commerce or gather information.

When the calendar turns past the first of the year, online tax scams become a major player in the world of cybercrime. Whether it’s playing on the fears that an honest taxpayer may be facing a penalty for doing their taxes incorrectly or a dishonest person looking to “get over” on the government, online tax scams can target a wide range of computer users.

Here are some examples:

Fake e-mails

Some cybercriminals use the tactic of sending an e-mail to a person that requests “more information,” such as a Social Security number, a bank account number, a credit card number, or perhaps personalized login information. These e-mails are designed to look like they’re coming from an official source, such as the IRS.

An easy way to tell if an e-mail is from a disreputable source is to look for certain clues. A reputable organization will never ask for personal information in an e-mail, no matter what. They will also address the recipient by name instead of “Dear Sir or Madam.”

Phishing Web sites

Cybercriminals also create Web sites that are meant to look exactly like the IRS’s site or reputable tax services, such as TurboTax. They’re sole purpose is also to trick the user into unwittingly handing over personal information.

These can be spotted by looking closely at the names of the site or the Web address. Many phishing sites label themselves close to reputable sites, such as TurboTaxx or TheIRS.com. They may also be exact copies, but the address gives the domain away, such as turbotax.example.com (which is actually on example.com and not on turbotax.com).

Natural disaster aid

Any charitable contributions to aid natural disaster victims are tax deductible. However, cybercriminals use these heart-wrenching catastrophes to fool taxpayers. In 2011, one scam involved an e-mail that promised a tax credit for the 2010 filing year if a person gave charitable donations to Japan earthquake relief. However, this is a play on a law passed in early 2010 for the 2009 filing year for Haitian earthquake relief. The e-mail is just a ploy to gather personal information.

Unlike traditional cybercrime, tax scams rely on the user to be fooled by the content of the scam and not by an external intrusion. While using subscription-based antivirus software may prevent some scams, it’s not the be-all, end-all. Researching and learning about current scams and avoiding becoming a statistic is the best way to not become a tax scam victim.