Identity thieves and scam artists, the only criminals we refer to as artists are astute watchers of pop culture and will take whatever celebrity people are interested in and set up websites with malware and viruses that may appear to offer information, stories, pictures or often nude pictures of popular celebrities.  The identity thieves and scammers lure people to their websites and then prompt you to click on links or download attachments under the guise of providing those much sought after nude photos or other material only to find that what you actually download are viruses and keystroke logging malware that can steal all of the information from your computer, smartphone, tablet or other device and make you a victim of identity theft.  Each year McAfee, the security software company keeps a list of the most dangerous people on the Internet, namely those people with the most malware tainted websites.  Last year’s most dangerous person was Emma Watson, of the Harry Potter Movies.  This year, however, she didn’t even make the top ten.  The most dangerous woman on the Internet this year was Lily Collins, the star of “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.”  You also may remember her as the cheerleader sister in the movie, “The Blind Side.”  Searching online with terms such as “Lily Collins nude” or Nude pictures of Lily Collins” are quite likely to bring you to a malware infested website that will turn you into a victim of identity theft.  This year’s top ten most dangerous celebrities on the Internet are, in order, Lily Collins, Avril Lavigne, Sandra Bullock, Kathy Griffin, Zoe Saldana, Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Jon Hamm (the lone male in the top ten), Adriana Lima and Emma Roberts.

TIPS

When looking for celebrity gossip and even photos, you are better off staying with well established websites, such as the celebrity gossip site www.tmz.com.  The risk of going to less established websites is too great.  Also, make sure that your computer, smartphone, tablet and any other electronic devices are kept up to date with the latest anti-virus security software and anti-malware software.