TAMPA, Fla. — The cyber attack on Marriott hotels that has compromised the information of billions of hotel guests is just the tip of a cyber crime iceberg, according to computer expert Dr. Karim Elish.
The Florida Polytechnic University Assitant Professor of Computer Science said hackers are laying raps online this holiday season hoping to catch online buyers and snag their personal information.
"They are trying to purchase something which isn't real and they are trying to enter their information, bank information, and credit card information, and all of this information will go to the attacker," Elish explained.
According to the FBI's most recent data on cyber crimes in Florida, nearly 350,000 Floridians fell victim to some kind of cyber attack in 2017, losing more than one and half million dollars to hackers.
Bay News 9 Trevor Pettiford decided to go out and talk with some people about whether they've been cyber attacked because they say so many people are victims of cyber attacks everyday.
Tampa resident Ernesto Taylor said, "I've had my identity stolen a couple of times. How did that happen? I'm not sure exactly how it happened. The yway I found out about it was that I had a bunch of phones mailed to me."
Jessica Young said, "I'm pretty fortunate I have not. Though I've heard a lot of stories. My dad had his identity stolen as well."
If you haven't been cyber attacked yet, Dr. Elish said it is only a matter of time.
"Because of the technology and the technologies increasing and increasing, there is a high chance, there is a possibility that you will be hacked," he said.