Phishing
"Phishing" is a particular type of email scam where fraudsters send emails claiming to be from big financial organisations or popular email sites such as eBay, asking users to update their account details. These are bogus and allow scammers to steal vital information they then use to commit fraud. 
Anyone receiving one of these emails should delete it immediately. Banks don't communicate with their users this way, so if you have replied to one of these emails, or think you may have given away your details, contact your bank immediately.

Money scams
Money scams often purport to come from a relative of a former leader of an African state, asking for help in getting currency out of the country in return for a cut of the loot. Scammers use these emails to wheedle personal information out of recipients that can be used in identity theft. Fraudsters also send emails claiming to come from a foreign lottery advising of winnings that can only be accessed once the lucky "winner" has paid a release fee.

The use of anti-spam and email filtering software can help. Obfuscating email addresses on your website—by embedding them as images, rather than clickable links for example—will also confuse the software that spammers use to harvest email addresses.

Data protection scams
All businesses that hold data on their customers need to be registered under the Data Protection Act (DPA). It's a fact scammers know and try to profit from by sending letters speculatively to companies that claim to be from DPA registration agencies. The official-looking letters demand a fee of £100 upwards to register the business—far more than the £35 Information Commissioner's Office charges. The ICO's advice: "Throw the letter in the bin".

Fake patches
One of the most convincing of virus scam masquerades is an update from Microsoft, claiming the virus attachment it carries is a security patch. Other variants will direct users to a fake Microsoft site where they will be encouraged to download the "patch". They will find their machine compromised and potentially under the control of the virus writer if they do so.

Users should not open emails from unknown senders or click on links in unsolicited emails. All firms should get their patches from Microsoft itself, and run up-to-date anti-virus and anti-spyware software to guard against malware infections.

Cybersquatting
Cybersquatting—where individuals register domain names that belong to other brands—is typically only a threat to larger companies. Keep your domain name registration up-to-date—cybersquatters can jump in if it has lapsed. If your URL has been taken over by a cybersquatter, UK internet registry for .uk names Nominet offers a dispute resolution service.