While experts aren't quite sure who's paying the price, the cost of viruses, spam and other malicious code cost consumers and businesses a whopping $7.8 billion over the past two years. While the figure is less than when the last Consumer Reports survey was conducted, it's still a pretty hefty price tag. Plus, this time around, spam seems to be the major culprit. Phishing scams remain an expensive proposition with an average cost of $850 lost per incident. No one is quite sure, however, who's paying for the damage--whether it's users, insurance companies or credit card firms.

For more on the high cost of online scams:
- read the survey results at CIO Today.