Not only has the Internet revolutionized the way we communicate, entertain, and learn, it has forever changed the way we shop, socialize, and conduct business. An estimated 144 million Americans are plugged into cyberspace, and thousands more enter the online world every day. Even if you're not wired, you've heard the buzz, billions of dollars in E-commerce, E-books changing the way we read, and fabulous music libraries acquired for nothing, thanks to Napster and its clones.

The popular image of the WWW is one of earnest geeks and capitalist kids gulping a Starbucks as they sling code. That icon masks something that until recently could only be called the online world's dirty little secret and possibly the biggest threat to modern society. Not only is the web a city filled with endless things to do and sights to see, like any city, it comes with its share of dark, threatening alleys, where not even the most

Much of the fraud seen on the net is of the time-honored variety: pyramid schemes, chain letters, questionable business opportunities, bogus franchises, merchandise and services promised but not delivered, overpriced scholarship search services, work-at-home scams, and phony prizes and sweepstakes. Con artists market their ploys on web sites, in chat rooms and newsgroups, and in E-mail.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not surprisingly, law enforcement has its hands full with this new medium. Proving who is behind the computer screen can be difficult, since physical clues like fingerprints don't exist online--and electronic trails may or may not exist. What makes law enforcement officials' jobs even more trying is the fact the their computer skills are way behind those of the internet bandits, and with each step they take, the criminals seem to take two.

eager explorer would want to end up.

Some common words found in the essay are:
E-commerce E-books, Future Internet, law enforcement, future internet, con artists,
Approximate Word count = 646
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)