Let me tell you about my dog Penny's recent experience.

During that very hot period in June, she was disporting herself in a field of long grass. Next day I noticed she was scratching her neck and closer examination revealed the presence of several ticks.

Whilst I was able to remove them, one was partially left in her skin and this led to a painful shoulder and limp. With the help of the vet she overcame this discomfort but it left me pondering that the price paid by my happy dog playing in the meadow was the acquisition of blood sucking parasites.

A surprising parallel can be drawn with anyone attempting to purchase goods via the Internet.

In my case I ticked, or more likely, neglected to untick a box which gave permission for a semi-fraudulent company to withdraw money from my bank account every month without further notice.

When I spotted the entries in my statement I took it up with the bank who shrugged their shoulders and said there was nothing they could do. Moreover there were countless others who had been caught the same way. The 'ticks' in question have an address and a mailbox but their services do not extend to answering complaints. Meanwhile the money continues to be collected.

Another type of fraud is perpetrated by associates of the Royal Mail.

If you have to track a parcel (a service that is offered for a not inconsiderable sum) you could reasonably expect to type the number into the box supplied and receive the answer immediately.

Instead I was diverted onto some sort of extension scam which ended with all my settings being changed and no news of my parcel. I had to delete all reference to the Royal Mail and start again- successfully this time.

In this sophisticated world of information technology there are myriad examples of fraudulent practice. To me nothing is as reassuring as a person to deal with. But that is probably because of my great age.