TRYING to keep up with cyber crime is a bit like watching a Tom & Jerry cartoon. We all seem to be chasing each other around in ever-decreasing circles.

Technology has moved along at break-neck speed since we first embraced it relatively recently.

Now it is just a question of keeping one-step ahead of the criminals who are constantly finding ingenious ways of accessing our information.

Many people understandably are nervous about carrying out any personal transactions on line or giving out details of their debit or credit cards.

And every time there is yet another report of hackers making off with someone’s life savings; they no doubt feel vindicated and even more determined not to take that risk themselves.

But where do we go from here? Backwards is not an option. There is no doubt this accessibility to online banking and shopping has transformed our busy lives.

No more standing in queues at the bank during our office lunch break, alongside everyone else with the same time limitations – and a great many without any time restrictions too.

If we want to order something quickly because we just haven’t got time to get into the car and drive, we can do so; it’s all there at the click of a button.

But parting with such personal information is akin to writing it in 20 foot high letters on a billboard in the city centre sometimes and while banks, for now anyway, are very good at reimbursing cyber theft, the inconvenience and the fear that it might happen again is becoming unacceptable.

It’s not as though we are not all trying to combat this. Most of us are acutely careful about giving out our personal details and there are lots of smart bods out there trying to stay ahead of the game on our behalf.

But it’s an exhausting game chasing after Jerry, or is it Tom?