What do you do to protect yourself from online fraud or identity theft?

This is a very broad question so I am going to give you what I think are a couple of the easiest most effective things you can do to protect yourself.

The #1 Rule is that you are the best anti-fraud and identity theft system you can buy. An educated user is far more effective than any software.

+THINK! Think twice before entering or submitting any information for any type of offer on-line. If it sounds to good to be true, especially if it is unsolicited it is likely to be a scam. Research any company before you submit information. A website alone is NOT proof a company is real. One example is the recent surge in scam sights targeting job seekers. Prospective employees who are more than willing to enter all of their personal information for an opportunity to get what sounds like a dream job.

+Absolutely do not use the same password for all your accounts. Almost everyone I know does this. This means that one compromised account compromises all of your accounts. Remembering all of those passwords could be a nightmare but there are solutions. Check out KeePass, it is an open source (translate to free and trustworthy) secure password storage solution that you can carry around with on an $8 memory stick from the little bin at the register in Staples.

+Secure your wireless home network. I say again, secure your wireless home network.

+Do not conduct ANY transactions with sensitive information open wireless networks unless you have implemented some sort of secondary security measure such as a secure tunnel through a trusted provider.

+Finally, keep your anti-virus software up to date.

There are many other more complicated things you can do but online security is like security in any other context. There are so many people that are completely unprotected that all you have to do is be a little more protected than the next guy. If your car has an alarm and his doesn't the thief will steal his first.

And DON'T be afraid of the internet. Your bills in the trash can were just as much of a security risk as your cache in your browser. Enjoy the convenience of the digital world but always be wary of predators looking to take advantage of naive newcomers.

Personally, I try to do business thru paypal and no problems the last 9 years or so.

But if you have to give a company your credit card number, make a note of it and check your account for the next couple of days for any unauthorized purchases. I like to use Master Card for example as I can always reverse charges and if someone were to steal the number, I do not have to pay nothing, but ony thru my credit union. All banks are different on this.

Do not be stupid and fall for the online scams. They may ask for money to may YOUR big winnings. Or they may ask for your bank account number and home address so they can deposit the money. What it says in the fine print, is that they will deposit YOUR money in THEIR bank account. Besides, tell them to mail you your check. You can wait.

And there is never an excuse for giving out your social security number too. Giving that out along with your home address to anyone is a recipe for disaster.

Did you know you can google credit report and get a FREE once a year credit report to check on your credit rating. So be like me and find out with a big surprise someone was using your name. Three years later, still trying to clear it up. I am too cheap to get a lawyer. Besides, I do not need it but those credit card companies really do not want to work with you I find out so check your credit rating. Who knows. You might need to buy a house or something and then find out too late.

Make sure that the website you are using beings with https instead of http. This means that the website is secure and your information will not be intercepted by a third party.

stop trusting companies with your credit cards people!...because some ppl can quickly get into that without a problem...so I've heard.

I just dont give it out, or open any spam e-mails or ones from e-mails i dont know. I also use norton 2007. It checks if the website is a fraud via toolbar so yea, im safe.

Use a secure browser like Firefox for all your online transactions.

http://www.cybertopcops.com/firefox-the-safe-alternative.php

Common sense and vigilance also plays a vital role in your online safety.

Here is an article about safe online shopping. It was written during the Christmas season last year, but is just as applicable to any shopping any time of the year.
http://cybertopcops.blogspot.com/2006/12/safe-online-shopping-tips-for-late.html

First of all I notice the asker of this question is brand new to Yahoo Answers. I would first off not give information to new members of yahoo answers about what I do to avoid or protect personal and confidential data or information. Yahoo Answers should not be posting posers who like to pretend they are like the ordinary person...

I only use trusted online companies to shop with.

Hey I know the best way to protect yourself! Use one of those "giftcard" credit cards! The ones were you put however much money you want on it and buy what you need! If they try to swipe the numbers or info of the mag strip your just going to have watever was left on your card after you bought watever u were buying! Just put like 20 bucks more than what you need on it and voila! No big loss and the credit card cmpny will reimburse u!

There are insurance plans to help your if your identity is stolen. What I do is constantly monitor my bank statements. I have to remember what I spend my money on and make sure my bank statements say the same.

On another note, your identity can be stolen even if you have never used the internet. So checking to make sure all your sites are secure won't always help. Your data is stored electronically through other companies and government agencies.

I don't give out personal information unless I am the one who has chosen to contact a site initially. I don't ever give out enough information for someone to open an account in my name - especially not my Social Security number. I always give out the minimum amount of information necessary to do whatever it is that I'm trying to accomplish online; I keep a close eye on my debit/credit/bank accounts, so that I know very quickly if something is awry. In addition, I use a couple of different services that will alert me if unusual numbers of transactions occur, or if unusually large amounts of money are being charged to my account. More than anything, I simply use common sense - if something seems "fishy," there's a good chance that it is!

Shred anything with sensitive numbers on it.
Password protect your computer.
Set browsers to higher level of security.
Don't even open phishing emails.
Don't keep credit card data on your computer.

For starters....

My personal methods are very low tech. Tho I am admin of a net bd and spend at least 4-6 hrs a day on line I simply do not put personal info on line or store it in my computer in any form. If it is not there it can not be stolen from there.

I also do not leave computer on line or if in a wireless or DSL location even turned on if I am not using it. I use the full Nortom protections plus some others and have these things set to scan and update daily. Because of the work I do on net I have free contact w/ consultants who are up on the latest scams and protections and also see Infoworld's data on them but the methods I have the greatest confidence in are the low tech ones. That is policy in our office as well. Turning computers on takes less than 60 seconds. It is well worth that to be sure we do not have mice.

I use firefox as opposed to internet explorer, It typically runs more website, more smoothly, and it is also a lot more secure than internet explorer.

get norton 360 or something like that free ones never work propley

Use as many passwords as you possibly can- make sure your passwords are of good quality (mix of letters, cases, numbers, symbols) - make sure you have at least a software firewall and a virus scanner - don't give out any personal information over an unencrypted connection - use security software to scan outgoing data to see if any personal information is being sent out without your permission - give as little personal info. as possible especially when signing up to services that technically don't require that info. - use paypal instead of paying with your credit card when possible - always check your statements, bank records, credit records etc. regularly - be wary of suspicious looking sites with funky urls - never give out personal info./password info. via email or phone - lol that's all I can think of..

I never use my own name for email addresses. Basically most identity theft does not come from transactions you do on the internet. It is very secure. Big dont's: Never give personal account information to any source that solicits it from you, like Emails that say, We belive your account has been compromised, please login and verify your account information. May frauds come looking like the real sites, AE Paypal ect. If such information is requested then contact the company directly and verify the request? Most will say that is a fake scam. Dont worry so much, it really is pretty safe to do online business. Just make sure it is something you requested and no a solititation asking for information.

I do not give my social security to anyone, anyone, online.

I make no online purchases--I do pay my utility bills, but on secure sites.

No one online has my correct name or address (other than the utility companies--and those bills are in someone else's name).

Do not open email attachment from unknown contact.
Do not fill any form from the link provided in email rather go to the site by typing the url yourself.
when filling online form, make sure you are not filling it to any phishing website.

I am careful about online transactions and only use secure sites.

We tear up any checks from the bank where they try to get us to write ourselves loans and we have contacted the bank and told them we don't want these checks sent to us.

We never open attatchments from strangers and we trash all email from strangers.

To protect myself from online fraud or identity theft is make sure to never ever give out any information that i would mind freely yelling out to the entire world. If i do need to give info, i typically will make up names and other things to give out instead of any personal info. You should always remember that no matter how safe the site is, there is some genious nerd out there just waiting to hack into it and get your info!!!

I use F-secure Antivirus to protect my computer from viruses sent by e-mail. I also don't answer any e-mails from people I don't know.

I don't bank online--that's probably the biggie. I don't check credit card balances online--I do it the old fashioned way--I pick up the phone and call the 800 number on the back of my card. What shopping I do online I only do with companies that I'm familiar with. I change my passwords regularly.

1. I have a dedicated debit card that I use ONLY for online purchases, that I have designated my "Shopping Card". I only keep a minimal amount on that account just for shopping purposes. It also helps me keep me from impulse shopping.

2. I NEVER click on ANY link on an e-mail from ANYONE. I ALWAYS close out the e-mail and open my browser window and access the company site directly, or, my from my bookmarks or my favorites.

3. I changed the default administrator password on my Linksys wireless router since these passwords are published on the Internet. Anyone with a laptop or who lives near me in my neighborhood can access my broadband connection and access my account while I am logged in.
http://www.routerpasswords.com/

How to change them:
http://compnetworking.about.com/od/routers/ss/routerpassword.htm
http://www.informit.com/articles/article.asp?p=461084&seqNum=2&rl=1

4. I NEVER give out my personal, account information to anyone unless I initiate the call, mail, e-mail or any other way of communicating it.

5. This isn't online, but photocopiers are now more sophistcated, being built with with HDD's (HarD Drives) and have network connectivity that save the information that is being photocopied. Imagine someone having access to your tax returns, birth certificates, financial statements, etc. So, I invested in my own copier and am very careful where I go to make copies.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/43937
http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/43937
http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/3013471?f=home_featured

i don't give any info on the computer. i will call and have info sent to my home. fill it out and mail it back or tell it over the phone.

Apparently not enough. The ID and Password for a Yahoo account no longer work even though I've been using it for about 7 years! And since I didn't use my actual private information when I registered -and have since forgot - I cannot get a new password and Yahoo refuses to help. Which seems to mean Yahoo doesn't take kindly to people trying to protect themselves.

go to smartcomputing.com
for your answer

I use a number of methods. As explain below

1) Firstly I have a good anti-virus software that is updated daily, it is the first thing I do in the morning.

2) I also have a firewall program and a anti-crime ware program that blocks hacking attempts and informs me if a website is untrustworthy.

3) I Also have anti-spy ware and anti ad-ware programs that run in the background.

4) You can also use firefox, as most of the virus are written for I.E internet expolerer the changes of coming across for one for firefox are lesser.

5) Update windows then the updates come out (Every second tuesday of the month.

6) Surf the internet from an limited account, hackers have to try harder as you need adm rights to install programs in a limited account.

7) Run virus checks, anti-spy/ad/crime ware checks one a week if you use your cards often

8) This is something I do then typing in a credit card number or a important password do not type it in sequence, as any keyloggers that get pass your anti-virus etc will read your keystokes.

For example of my card number was like 694864839485930

I would type in 66 and then use the mouse to move my cusoer this takes longer but it makes keyloggers less usefull. hers how I would type in the above using this method (using mouse and not cusoer keys) patterm as shown below
66
69699
69464949
69486489489
6948648394893
69486483948593
694864839485930

9) Check your bank statements for unauthorised use.

10) Clever your browser history and never save your details on your computer either by using windows passwords or any other programm. These are hackable

11) Lastly, reminder if you don't know the site don't use it, and banks will never email or phone you asking for your detials. If in doult look up the phone number of your local bank and then phone them.

- Don't give out your real name and other particulars unless absolutely necessary. Use fake information instead.
- Register up to 5 or more different email addresses. Try to rotate your forum/website registration between these email addresses.
- Avoid registering to too many newsletters. Though they're fun to read, often the company also keeps your email addresses for certain purposes, some more sinister than others. And the user has no control and no say should said company decide to sell off your information to another company.
- Use Anti-spyware programs like Adaware, Spybot Search and Destroy, AVG Anti-spyware, CWShredder, Bazooka, SpywareBlaster, etc,
- Make sure you have a good anti-virus program or if you can't afford a commercial one, at least get a free program like AVG. And make sure your anti-virus program is up-to-date and scan your computer constantly.
- Get a hardware firewall. Software firewalls like Zone Alarm are so-so and not always the best.
- Stay away from many pornography and illegal sites. Often, such sites require you to download a dialer or some other form of executable program(a ".exe") which often installs a trojan or some other virus that gathers your confidential information and delivers it back to the hacker/company.
- Exercise caution in trusting your friends, your employee/co-workers with all your personal details. It is all too easy for someone to masquerade as another employee and "convince" them to divulge their and everyone elses' personal information. Play it safe and don't trust them with every detail, instead!
- Use multiple passwords instead of relying on one password for all sites and forums!
- Use a screensaver and find out how to enable the password protect feature, so your coworker or some other person can't snoop in on your personal information.


But of course, there's way more like keyloggers(which record your typing strokes from the keyboard) and many other various illegal programs which can steal your information and even compromise part of your life!

I don't open any emails from anyone I don't know and I change my passwords alot. After I have made a purchase and received my purchase I erase any private info whatever company I am doing business with has. Incase any one hacks into the businesses I do business with.

I never give my card number on line if I want to order something i order it then call the company and give them the card number. And I don't give my real info on line.

well: according to safety I do not give information also kept
private at all times

I only use a credit card since I'm protected against fraud with it. If I need cash I use pay pal and use credit card for funding it.
"Credit card" not debit card there is a world of difference between the two.
Stock and bank are secure encrypted providers. Other than that I feel like it's reasonable safe to use the Internet if it is a secure site or they use encryption.
For anything else I use a 1 gig thumb drive that I wear around my neck uses USB port and when I unplug it the information goes with me.

1> Use Firefox as your browser - NOT Internet Explorer including the new IE 7 - far too many security flaws.
2> If you can use Linux online - then no trojans etc can affect your pc
3> Do not click on links in emails - most common way of conning people and don't assume because a website starts with https it is secure. Received a new email link in the mail today for an item I had sold on EBay ( I haven't sold on EBay in over a year so I knew this was fake ). Clicked on the link as I only run Linux online so am fairly safe as trojans can't run , and was taken to a website https://pages.ebay.com/xxxxxxxxxx
The page was a copy of the Ebay sign in page with htpps and also the padlock in the lower screen so looked legit but obviously was a fake - no sales means nobody would be contacting re a sale.

Main thing is be aware if exactly where you are at all times.

important info.like you'r credit card,bank statement always go un a secure site

First of all you just can't avoid falling pray for determined Hacker/Phisher but one can be more careful

One of the most important thing to do is *NEVER* trust email communication.

There are chances that you have actually received the mail from legit source ( Paypal, Bank, Online trading sites etc) which require action then make sure that you don't follow URL from email but directly go to the concerned site and try to navigate to required section.

Ex. If you receive mail from Paypal that your account has been blocked for some reason and you can re-enable it by filing a form from given URL then contact Paypal ask if this is true and ask them how can you navigate to it from actual site.

2. Never use same account name/ password for multiple sites and it's good idea to use industrial strength password generators (PIN's is one such product)

3. Never do sensitive transactions from public computers or from computers with access for multiple users (to avoid key loggers)

One can write thousands of documents on how to transact online safely but most important part is to be extra vigilant when it comes to doing secure transaction.

Watch for phishing, and variants of the Nigerian money scam; these are often nowadays in the form of "You have won a lottery!" Report all attempts at phishing to the appropriate financial institution.
Deal with only trusted merchants online, verifying that the web site is secure.
Monitor credit card and other accounts closely.
Burn all documents containing identifying information. Shredding is not good enough.

Try and find out other means of convenient purchase.

The only way I can think of is to buy a Internet Security system. I had one a couple of years ago and it told me whenever a person was trying to access my internet, and it suggested if i should block it or not. this would definately help a lot. You should go to any good electronic type store and ask one of the workers there to help you. they probably know more than anyone else about internet security. To help with interent credit card use, if you are using a credit card with any big company, i dont think it would be a problem. maybe you should check your credit card holder's website, maybe that would help. I hope this helps! If you need more help, just ask anyone you know: I'm sure they would be able to help you out and they could tell you what they do to secure themselves from the internet.

I suggest that you supply each answerer with the appropriate Symantec software, at no cost.

It doesn't matter these days. Your accounts can be accessed any day of the week. The scammers don't need you password.

It would be rather counterproductive for me to tell you that. Don't you think?

THE ONLY WAY IS TO BE BROKE AND ALREADY HAVE BAD CREDIT.

First of all I do not use any of Norton's products as it lets too many viruses through.
I have found other products that do a better job than Nortons's and they are free.
I use a disposable credit card for online transactions. Only keeping enough in it to ensure the bill will be paid.

i have protection in my credit cards for identity theft or online fraud...regular monitoring of my credit report to know whats goin on...i am updated and secured...so, i dont have to worry bout it...
but at the same time, eve if you know u r secured, still you have to protect your own identity by being responsible and smart...

That's really none of your business.

First, I don't let my computer remember my logins for me and I never let any website remember my credit card information for me. Too many eCommerce websites have been hacked and customer credit card information has been stolen for my comfort.

Second, I never follow any links that is provided to me, when I receive an email from one of my online financial institutions claming there is some kind of a problem with my account. I don't care what the story is that they are giving me. I don't care what the story they are giving me, I always open my web browser and go to the main website, which I know is their's and login and check out the problem on my own if I'm concerned. Note: if you know how to read email headers, you can usually look at them and determine whether the email really came apparent source or not, but it's not for novices and sometimes it's just easier to use the method I described.

I can't tell you how many emails I have forwarded onto eBay and PayPal Security Spoof, because I get them on a weekly basis. I don't even check my accounts out, because I know they are spoofs, so I just forward them right to them at [email protected] or [email protected] .

Third, you need to make sure you use good strong passwords on your accounts. Using something like "bird" is not good. Using "Bird39" is a little better, but it's really not strong enough, because it's too easy to crack. I use very cryptic passwords and I don't use the same one on any other website. A good example of a strong password is "8j3FnE1g".

Last but not least, watch out for any lotteries or other stories people might be giving you through email, where there is an oppertunity for you to get a lot of easy money. As safe as it might sound, you won't end up with anything. As a matter of a fact, it will be the reverse...they will end up with your money and you will be in the poor house and owing the bank!

Nothing ca be done against this problem because everything changes very fast within this area

That is the million dollar question. And of course, I would not suggest anyone answer this question! Just another way for the hackers to figure your way of protecting yourself out! I have found several Fool-Proof ways to secure data.
Beware of this interest question. And why would you need to know this anyway????

In order to protect yourself from online fraud, you change your password every 2 to 3 months time

You make sure you screw up your own credit so that no one else can.

don't use the Internet , anything that is sent can be tracked by anyone who has the know how, always be cautious, with anyone anytime, never trust anything you cannot see

I think Yahoo Community Guidlines should have deleted this question!
Who is dumb enough to give this ?unkonwn person info like this?

Use cash, don't buy things online and know where your wallet is at all times.

Norton.

simply dont buy anything on line.

Well if your young you shouldn't do this enless u act secret like a agent lol.You have 2 meet the person (enless your young)b4 you talk 2 them if YOU think the intrnets not safe 4 YOU.Keep all bog info private.And teenagers,stop giving info on your games.AND DON"T ASK 4 PERSONAL INFO IN HTE FIRST PLACE!

why bother going on line go to the mall instead

If you have the slightest bit of intelligence then it's not hard to protect yourself.

Never open fwds or letters from unknowns. Never open anything from any bank. Banks, if at all they send something by email, its very general information and I can always find that at the bank and not through email. Never click on links asking for confirmation of information from banks or CC companies. Always type out the bank address when doing online banking. No link clicking. Make sure the padlock and https sign are there before proceding. Have a good antivirus and keep it uptodate and run checks regularly. Beware of keystroke copiers and trojans that come in email. Only open emails that you are sure of and not doubtful ones. Read anti virus websites to know what are the latest viruses so you wont get caught clicking on any mail thats transmitting one.

I only shop with trusted companies and check my account on-line every day or two.

have a horrible, hideous, and utterly repulsive identity that no one in there right mind would want to steal

i dont talk to people who ask me for personal details.

If you have an EBAY or amazon sellers account, do not respond to any email message you get from them to your account about your account being shut off if you don't sign in from that email you received in your inbox, it is a fake and they will get your password and make a fake account, sell an item for big time bucks, and take the money and run and leave you with the bill. Any email from the amazon or ebay that say "member" is not real, it will say your name, or if you are suspicious, go to the real site and check it out.

Limit myself to what sites I visit. Always make sure that my firewall and anti-virus are updated, Never click on a link in my email. Report junk mail. Always check banking statements to make sure that no unusually withdrawals or transaction have been done. Limit myself from purchasing products online; best to purchase an item at the store in person; unless the item is only available online and it is something that you truly need and also make sure that it is a legit site such as amazon.com.
Have a seven year alert on all three credit agencies.

NEVER store your passwords on line.

NEVER give your credit card info over the phone

Use on line banking and check your accounts daily

It has been proven that people who do "on line banking" as less likely to become a victim of fraud to a great degree because they are checking their accounts daily. It's a great safety device.

NEVER let your credit card out of your sight. Follow the waiter to the credit machine.

Always pull your "free" credit report once a year and check for errors or anything suspicious. If you do on line banking you don't need to have them monitor for you, you do that with daily log ins.

Use credit cards that are regulated and avoid payment gateways like paypal that are not. Avoiding ebay is another easy way to prevent fraud.

Many services like internet banking are more secure than sending your information through the mail. They also help you detect problems much faster.

I only buy from sites that have valid security certificates and I keep a close eye on my account the charges.
I also use complicated passwords that contain a few letters, two or so numbers and a couple random characters. That makes it harder for hackers to figure it out.
DO NOT GO WILLY NILLY ORDERING FROM ANY AND ALL RANDOM SITES: A friend of mine was ordering all kinds of stuff online from all kinds of places. I told her that she should only order from trusted sites, but she didn't listen. A month later she's got $200 worth of charges from half way accross the country.
Just be careful people! Watch your backs!

I make sure the little lock is in the lower right hand corner of the screen.

For identity theft I use equifax credit monitoring. Every time my credit is pulled I get a text message on my phone and I know what company pulled my credit, I know when my something affects my credit score. I have tried other companies but I like this one the best. For on line fraud when I'm not on my computer I disconnect it from the Internet server. I started doing this after my aunt ex employee was connecting to her computer from his home wiping out a lot of work he had done for the company. I don't just shut down I unhook.

get AOL because police watch ur things or personal things!

out of all these answers im willing to bet there is few if any personal experiences ...why ... because the reality is for the most part identity theft is hype and an urban legend ... im not saying to be careless with credit card numbers, but the fact of the matter is that identity theft is much less common than the media portrays it ... imo its akin to razorblades in apples at halloween .... somthing that may have happened once or twice but in reality its just not an issue and as far as losing money goes ... ur bank is more likely to screw up ur details than u are likely to have problems with online banking or creditcard use ...

use somebody elses name , like[ marian m]that way if somebody steals the identity your real name and ID is okay , but I pity the person who's name that got stolened

don't reveal your personal details

Use a hard line for sensitive data. Do not use WIFI to transmit it. Hackers can pick up your signal, and even if it is encrypted, and use software to break it down. Use secure sites with HTTPS:// in the browser URL and NEVER respond to ANY email requesting your info.

Two cardinal rules to be followed:
-Use your common sense in case of online transactions.
-Never try to be too greedy. Remember money has to be earned, it cannot come to you from Nigeria just like that.

A few steps that I follow to keep myself safe :
1. While using credit card on Internet, check the authenticity of the web site.
2. Click on the SSL logo to see if the certificate is valid.
3. Always keep ready the URL of the bank site and do not click an URL based on a e-mail.
4. Prefer making payment through the Gateway system of the card and not typing the credit card information on the merchant's site, unless the merchant is extremely trustable, someone like Indian Railways site irctc.co.in.
5. Never handover the card at a merchant establishment, unless I am standing in front of the machine.
6. Wipe off the CVV Number.
7.Check the transaction details and statements on a daily basis and report any discrepancy, in case found.

Apart from this the regular storage of the cards and other information in a safe place away from public access.
Keep passwords written in a file and then keep it protected with a difficult password. I need not mention the do's and dont's for choosing passwords.Never throw statements in the bin. Shred them to smallest bits before throwing.

this is easy!

never enter your personal information to an unknown site.

if it doesn't have reviews or sites talking about it on other reputable sites, its a bad site.

if its a random site it is probably a scam.

don't click on links. be careful what you click because there are emails that appear to be a company or someone trying to sell something but is really a virus.

never store your credit card information or social security on the computer.

just don't accept files or click on links. don't use your credit plainly. use paypal

1)First thing always do transaction from a secure network.
2)Install a firewall,anti-phising tool bar, malware & spyware removal tool , antivirus tools if you are on a home network.
3)Always use a bank which allows you to use a dummy credit card numbers generated by them instead of real numbers ,here in india there is a bank called HDFC that does this and these are called net safe credit card numbers.
4)Always keep a log of the transactions you have made and also keep the emergency phone numbers of card companies to hotlist the card if there are any issues.
5) Try to update the operating system with latest patches and use genuine software.
6)Use strong passwords .
7)Always try to login first with some dummy data to test if the site is phised one .

It has very useful but if we have the uses for carefully. Theft the password and personal confidental data always wrongly of person

You might want to try out KeepYouSafe. Its an interesting service that keeps your records safe.
Uses strong encryption technology [highest available 256-bit AES, the ones used by millitary] to secure your emails/data.
Check out the source mentioned for details.

anonymous browsing of internet using software like system suite 2006 and ghost platinum that change the ip address of the system will be of great help

I would reccommend not buying from online companies. And if you are signing up for credit score reports, You are required to cancel within a certain time limit or you will be charged. also some sign you up for unwanted hidden services that also cost you. Over all be picky on the places you choose to purchase items. Although e-bay seems to be the best place to buy items now adays, it isnt, there are many of scammers on there that can easily steal your info, even with paypal. Identities are bought and sold for $5 - $10 and that includes all the info needed for signing up for credit cards and stealing you identity. (Full name, mothers maden name, Social Security number, address, family members, etc.)

I take a number of steps to protect myself. Years ago, I was a victim of identity theft. There are a number of steps I have taken to prevent this:

-I added a note to my credit file stating that I was to be personally contacted whenever I attempted to open any type of credit.

-I regard any unsolicited offer with a suspicious eye. I NEVER give out any information over the phone to anyone who calls me, even if they say they are from my bank. Recently, I had someone respond to my resume on a job board, and they asked me for my full social security number. At that point I quickly ended the conversation.

-Also, I am very wary of phishing schemes via email. I have received a number of official looking emails that seem to be from Paypal, but are actually clever fakes.

-I cover the keypad with my free hand whenever I type my pin for a debit transaction.

-Be careful out there!

Common sense is the best protection. That and learning about computers and the internet and how they work.

No firewall, no antivirus and online for 18 years now , continuously for the last 8 years. Never lost any valuable data.

In the increasingly complex world of the internet, you will have to know about how computers and the internet works, or you will have to pay someone who does.

I really suggest people get educated.

Online scam has been prevalent now and each person should know how to protect themselves from this.

1. Never give personal information through email and to telemarketers.

2. Be wary of people asking for the your credit card identification number which is located on the back of your card when you do phone transactions

3. Be careful of shoulder surfing. When doing your bank transactions using your laptop, let's say, in a cafe, look around you and make sure nobody is watching you when you type in your personal information

4. Store credit cards would need your SSN. if you're applying for a store card over the phone, make sure you know who you're dealing with before you hand that person all your information

5. Phishing is online fraud. When you are sent an email supposedly from your bank asking you to update your information, do not click the link right away. Use the email address you've used in the past. Sometimes, the email link is fake and your info is recorded. All scammers need is your username and password and they can clean out your bank account and ruin your credit rating.

6. When surfing, make sure the lock icon is closed. The lock icon is located on the status bar. When you go a site, check is the website is https://, instead of http:// That means the site is secure

7. Change passwords regularly and make your password complicated, you need to have capital letters, lowercase letters, special characters and numbers

Hope this helps!!!!

I follow the basic security rules and software listed at:
http://www.download.com

I never ever reply to emails that ask for my ID, password or any sensitive personal data, whoever it is from. I also use a sign-in seal to protect me from Phishing. It's Yahoo!'s idea actually. I also use a lot of free but effective software to protect myself from spyware, hackers and keyloggers. I don't have any security suite though, as I feel that basic safety is enough. I don't walk into the lion's mouth, and I use the minimum accessories needed for protection from the lion. I keep as little sensitive data on the system as possible. I change my password for every site I'm a part of every month.

I use 4 antispyware apps, an antivirus, CCleaner, and Firefox. I update every day. I also use McAfee SiteAdvisor for Firefox to tell me which sites are bad before I enter them. I get a detailed report on each website. I always check up a site's report before I enter it.

I always stay safe simply by staying alert and running frequent scans and updates.

I forgot to mention earlier that my PC has user accounts for each family member. Each of us keep our passwords discreet. That way, no naughty, nasty, reckless downloading relative can ever load the PC with malware. I use System Restore and frequently keep creating new Restore points (at least once a fortnight). That was another lesson I learnt from Download.com. I'm sure you (the asker) know them well.

Excellent question. I use the following steps to protect my identity:

1. Use a P.O. box for my mail. I do not ever give out my home address.

2. I pay my bills with US Postal money orders. They only cost $ 0.95, and contain no personal information such as address (again i list my PO box), checking account number, social security number. Since they are issued by the Federal Government they are reliable. Been using them for years and no problems yet.

3. For people or businesses I dont know I give out only a pre-paid cellphone number. The pre-paid account does not have my SSN, date of birth, or address. This costs a bit more than my regular cell account, but is entirely un-traceable.

4. If I have to give a credit card number online to buy something, I don't buy it. If I order things online I send a money order.

I understand some of this is more inconvenient than more technologically advanced methods, but how inconvenient would it be to have someone run up massive bills in your name and ruin your credit?

You must have the best antivirus and the best firewall availabile to date, Also keep up with the updates on these things too. You won't get the protection from downloading free stuff from the internet! Norton is the best. Also, if you go to a site and there is personal info, make sure that there is a yellow lock on that page. Keep Your secutrity levels high. Some banks have you lower your security levels and accept 3rd party cookies because of AOL users cannot connect to them. Not worth it. I will say that on the news that most identity theft is from the old fashioned way, trash bin, and your own mail box! I knew one friend, who got all her info retrieved because she did not have a fire wall and did not know it until they were in vegas and found out they had been ripped and had no money! Folks are using the most protection they can get. Cost of it should not be a concern because of what it will cost you eventually without this protection.

Companies are doing things to protect their customers. But there are also people who like to hack in other people's account. My advice is, limit your use of business transactions using the internet. if you can do it manually, much better. you know what they say, (manual is) "slow but sure."

Only use my work and my house computer, computers that I can trust. Both have Norton and hardware/software firewall. Both only have me as administrator (so no-one can install stuff).

After using either of the pc’s I first window wash my system then delete all the cookies and temp files, then run Ad-Aware (full system scan) then reboot my system.

In addition to all that, I never use my real name for e-mails, forums, newsgroups. . . . I try to avoid using my SS number as much as possible. I make sure that the sites that require my SS for initial setup never display my full SS when I log in (for instance Banks, Schools)

I have two PCs, or more, one thing I do NOT do is put my data or others data on a computer that is connected to the internet.
You want my name, fine, you can use it, you want my SS# that has allready been passed around and lost by so many Financial Hogs that I rekon it is Public Domain now.
This is THE INTERNET. It is or was designed to Share Data and Ideas. Well the shareing part got iced, the Ideas are now Property, when I make a program work better, I have broken some new law.
Is a HAM radio secure. No, is a Cell Phone Secure, no. Is a Bank Secure, no.
To Activate a Windows OS I am asked to give name,DoB,Mailing Address, Users of Computer, then I can buy Privacy and Security for $99 a year.
Passwords are a joke. Any crack program can run 5,67.899.988,455 sequences in a matter of moments.
As long as Information and Data is transmitted to and from Sattelites, it is vunerable to be picked up and recoreded by any $15 scanner from radio shack.Then any IT or hobbyist can translate or break the cipher that is used. See Enigma.
Stop calling Hackers Criminals, Bill Gates and Steve Jobbs are some of the richest hackers in the world.
Media says this 14 year old hacker broke into Chase Manhatten Bank and diverted 8,8 billion to an offshore account, well Microsoft is in Peurto Rico now, so that could be true.
If Homeland Security can legaly look at my Bank Transactions, then who is the terrorist and who funds them.
Passwords, hah!
People look at the yellow padlock, send data, if someone can make a financial gain from that transaction, they will.
WWW of Information, but that information now has a price, want to learn how to spell. pay $15 a month, want to learn how to spell in saftey, x-tra $15 a month.
People will either bleed every penny legally or they will bleed every penny with a rootkit.
It is good that some are trying to help, but Open Source free software is the way to learning, allow people to learn and they will learn.
Keep them ignorant of the facts, and no body wins.

I have such a low income that they would have to pay me to take my ID. If they try to use my account for something they won't get beans. That and rotating passwords are my protection.

i
- dont give my credit card no. on the net
- dont purchase any thing from the net (like e-bay)
- dont give your ids to strangers (they can hack)
- dont give your bank account no.
- dont chat with strangers

(But do trust me, i am worthy)

i will only give a fake data in the internet

Thank you for this question. Since I am somewhat new to the internet, I have learned quite a bit just reading some of your responses.

they can't charge over $500. Usually it would be less than $500 because we already have used part of the balance anyway. I have one email account that is used only for PayPal. One that is used only for eBay and any other site that I purchase from. I have another one for anything I might sign up for online that doesn't involve purchasing and one that is just for my personal correspondence. It helps me recognize a phishing email disguised as something from eBay or PayPal when it comes into an account that isn't used for that purpose. I know right away it's a phony. I trash anything that I think is a phishing attempt and dump the trash right away. If I'm at a website that I'm not familiar with and I at all feel uneasy about sharing information then I don't. There's really nothing on the internet that I need so badly that it's worth risking identity theft.

I use well known sites and after I visit a new site check to see what it did to my computer when I was there. If, it loaded a suspicious Java Script or file. I block that site and never return.
I NEVER open e-mail from people I not know. The people and business I know are in my Address Book, everything else go to Bulk and Trashed no matter how interesting the subject line. Also, if I recieve an e-mail from someone with an Attachment and they have not mentioned sending me a file I verify they did send the file. Example; guess about a year ago many people got a virus. E-mail and it send to everyone in the address book. Looked very legitimate. Said; I changed my e-mail and the new address is below. It was an e-mail in an .exe file???? No way! I ask my friend if she sent me a file and she said "NO". I told her to scan for viruses and she got the problem fixed.
Good Firewall is the first and best virus prevention. It keeps the computer from being an extended server or keylogger when we not know. Example; not long ago and it may still be happening. Someone get the ISP of providers then goes around trying to come in the back door of people connected to that server. With a good Firewall, everyone I knew just seen it was being blocked. I looked it up on the Inet and that how I knew what it was. Told them to tell the ISP provider and maybe they take care of it. But, the Firewall prevented any problems.

There are many other more complicated things you can do but online security is like security in any other context. There are so many people that are completely unprotected that all you have to do is be a little more protected than the next guy. If your car has an alarm and his doesn't the thief will steal his first.

That way if anyone ever does get access to it they can't charge over $500. Usually it would be less than $500 because we already have used part of the balance anyway. I have one email account that is used only for PayPal. One that is used only for eBay and any other site that I purchase from. I have another one for anything I might sign up for online that doesn't involve purchasing and one that is just for my personal correspondence. It helps me recognize a phishing email disguised as something from eBay or PayPal when it comes into an account that isn't used for that purpose. I know right away it's a phony. I trash anything that I think is a phishing attempt and dump the trash right away. If I'm at a website that I'm not familiar with and I at all feel uneasy about sharing information then I don't. There's really nothing on the internet that I need so badly that it's worth risking identity theft.

And when it comes to online shopping, we must be extra careful before making a purchase, we must email and check with them, how safe is our purchase orders gonna be transacted. Checking, double checking what safety standards and features, and certification technologies they have got before making a purchase or an online transaction is better. We must also not share important banking informations via instant messaging.

W.R. is an employee earning from his employer. Rule of thumb, never challenge your employer for they can fire you. Employer can and will find better, more suitable host than its current one. In times like this, you should be grateful that you have a job that pays too well. This is showbiz, so you should accept the fact that not all are flowers and rainbows when it comes to comments. J.S. has a right and a freedom to speak what he thinks. If he cannot, then he is not doing his job for his employer. I was wondering, why did W.R. say to the public that he shows his true colors. There were incidents that he made stupid remarks to his staff on air? What about the Former Pres. Cory A. funeral? What about the insults/snide comments he gives guests/contestants? It is such an ironic turn of event that he is proud to dare ABS-CBN that he will resign if they don't fire J.S.? This is too much and he should already pay for the long overdue of bad rep for the show, and the network.

+THINK! Think twice before entering or submitting any information for any type of offer on-line. If it sounds to good to be true, especially if it is unsolicited it is likely to be a scam. Research any company before you submit information. A website alone is NOT proof a company is real. One example is the recent surge in scam sights targeting job seekers. Prospective employees who are more than willing to enter all of their personal information for an opportunity to get what sounds like a dream job.

+Absolutely do not use the same

+THINK! Think twice before entering or submitting any information for any type of offer on-line. If it sounds to good to be true, especially if it is unsolicited it is likely to be a scam. Research any company before you submit information. A website alone is NOT proof a company is real. One example is the recent surge in scam sights targeting job seekers. Prospective employees who are more than willing to enter all of their personal information for an opportunity to get what sounds like a dream job.

+Absolutely do not use the same password for all your accounts. Almost everyone I know does this. This means that one compromised account c

And when it comes to online shopping, we must be extra careful before making a purchase, we must email and check with them, how safe is our purchase orders gonna be transacted. Checking, double checking what safety standards and features, and certification technologies they have got before making a purchase or an online transaction is better. We must also not share important banking informations via instant messaging.

So then disabling the remember password should be done, so when we use especially on a public computer then none will be able to know our secret data.

I think these are the things which will help people to protect their valuable data. If they do this, I can guarantee and I think so, based on my own personal e

+THINK! Think twice before entering or submitting any information for any type of offer on-line. If it sounds to good to be true, especially if it is unsolicited it is likely to be a scam. Research any company before you submit information. A website alone is NOT proof a company is real. One example is the recent surge in scam sights targeting job seekers. Prospective employees who are more than willing to enter all of their personal information for an opportunity to get what sounds like a dream job.

+Absolutely do not use the same password for all your accounts. Almost everyone I know does this. This means that one compromised account compromises all of your accounts. Remembering all of those passwords could be a nightmare but there are solutions.

Customers who are tired of all the annoying sells calls and mail pieces, and now email pieces you get.
Closing your browser, this is also good to stop any open banking info or Credit Info that you might have had open on line after being on certain sites.
Passwords: Make it a combination password with Caps, and Lower letters and numbers. And try not to have to many different passwords that you have to write them down so that you know what is on what site. Make it a combination that you can can use for everything and only something that you would know. The only other person that should know is a beneficiary in case something were to happen to you. For example my mother has my Password, and it is the only one I use. If you think it has been copied change it now.
Source(s):

do that. Also the spped of the internet and the computer's processing speed also does matter.

Then one must have a antivirus system, firewall windows based is already enough, then a adware spyware remover tool which like Microsoft offers Windows Defender, so these things are more enough for the security of the online world.

One must frequently update antivirus, firewall settings should be monitored, then the windows defender program too frequently updated and scanned once a week or for better results on a daily basis.

+THINK! Think twice before entering or submitting any information for any type of offer on-line. If it sounds to good to be true, especially if it is unsolicited it is likely to be a scam. Research any company before you submit information. A website alone is NOT proof a company is real. One example is the recent surge in scam sights targeting job seekers. Prospective employees who are more than willing to enter all of their personal information for an opportunity to get what sounds like a dream job.

+Absolutely do not use the same password for all your accounts. Al

However what I am worried about is the credit card transactions that occur on the online stores, ebay, etc. These transactions can be captured by the crooks who hack databases and/or the wireless data that is sent over the air. You can't really do anything about it outside of not using online purchasing. What we need is a strong government that, through laws, encourages all companies to have a strong security policy/practice and to punish those who don't (and / or repeat offenders.) Similar to how Sarbanes-Oxley was enacted after the Enron fiasco.

Personally i would try and fit a least 1 person in the boot of your car, then lay everyone down on their back, on the back seat of the car. For the front i would remove the steering wheel and then get people to sit normally but squash up and get as many as possible then to lay someone across their laps. Hope this answers your question

Use Fraud protectors and Phising filters, but these security stuff aren't always as safe as we believe. You should buy Trojan for your computer, or download the free version, but remember, these were made by people, and the same people who made it know how to break it! So don't trust everything to the internet! Make sure you don't use the password on your internet for emails, and stuff also to use it for bank accounts and stuff like that.

You will be amazed at how many people leave checkbooks, credit cards, and social security cards laying around the home or office . Actually the largest percentage of identity theft is from those we know. Don’t store you passwords in your computer. Yes it is convenient however, hackers can get into your computer and copy all your passwords. It is good to delete the cookies as well every once and a while. Be old fashion, write them down. Make sure you check your credit annually. You can obtain a free copy from www.annualcreditreport.com. Also, make sure you check all 3 bureaus. (While we are on credit reports, opting out isn’t a bad idea.) Many financial planners recommend freezing your credit. This basically prevents anyone, and we do mean anyone including you from looking at your credit. However, Alabama doesn’t have that law yet. If you would like to help in getting this in our state visit www.financialprivacynow.com. Lastly, cell phones. Be careful on this one. If you sell your phone, palm or computer when you delete data it doesn’t go completely away, it just doesn’t direct itself to it anymore. Therefore, someone can crack into the system and get your info.

To be truthful, there is more you can do off-line to safeguard identity theft, such as using permanent ink pens for checks and walking your mail inside the post office. This is the #1 method for thieves to get your identity and access to your bank accounts. The mail is stolen from mailbox outside the post office, and yes, we did it right outside in the parking lot. Thieves will then take your checks, copy your signature, then with a chemical concoction, wipe away what you wrote on the check in ball point pen. At that point, they have a blank check and your signature.

I feel when you are doing any transactions or providing Credit Information to any of the web sites, kindly check whether it has a Secured Socket Layer, when ever you access sites you will see a SSL symbol with a closed lock meaning that site is secured. Also before you go further contact the site & clarify as most of these kinds of sites have online help & Support. Phishing is online fraud. When you are sent an email supposedly from your bank asking you to update your information, do not click the link right away. Use the email address you've used in the past. Sometimes, the email link is fake and your info is recorded. All scammers need is your username and password and they can clean out your bank account and ruin your credit rating.

Another step, if your banking institution offers it, is to not do any online banking over the Internet. Phone modems still exist [or am I the only geek who remembers this :P], and some banks still have an 800 number [or maybe a local one] to call in with your MS Money or Quickbooks or whatever software you use. That way, no personal account information goes over the Internet. Internet information packets are very complexly encrypted, so there is only like a one in a billion chance of anyone other than the intended recipient intercepting the packet AND then decrypting it, but I just don't want to be that billionth try.

I always keep switch off stage...ha ha ah

I am the one who has chosen to contact a site initially. I don't ever give out enough information for someone to open an account in my name - especially not my Social Security number. I always give out the minimum amount of information necessary to do whatever it is that I'm trying to accomplish online; I keep a close eye on my debit/credit/bank accounts, so that I know very quickly if something is awry. In addition, I use a couple of different services that will alert me if unusual numbers of transactions occur, or if unusually large amounts of money are being charged to my account.

We tear up any checks from the bank where they try to get us to write ourselves loans and we have contacted the bank and told them we don't want these checks sent to us.

Never give personal account information to any source that solicits it from you, like Emails that say, We belive your account has been compromised, please login and verify your account information. May frauds come looking like the real sites, AE Paypal ect. If such information is requested then contact the company directly and verify the request? Most will say that is a fake scam. Dont worry so much, it really is pretty safe to do online business. Just make sure it is something you requested and no a solititation asking for information.

I use a couple of different services that will alert me if unusual numbers of transactions occur, or if unusually large amounts of money are being charged to my account. More than anything, I simply use common sense - if something seems "fishy," there's a good chance that it is!

Use a screensaver and find out how to enable the password protect feature, so your coworker or some other person can't snoop in on your personal information.

This isn't online, but photocopiers are now more sophistcated, being built with with HDD's (HarD Drives) and have network connectivity that save the information that is being photocopied. Imagine someone having access to your tax returns, birth certificates, financial statements, etc. So, I invested in my own copier and am very careful where I go to make copies.

Did you know you can google credit report and get a FREE once a year credit report to check on your credit rating. So be like me and find out with a big surprise someone was using your name. Three years later, still trying to clear it up. I am too cheap to get a lawyer. Besides, I do not need it but those credit card companies really do not want to work with you I find out so check your credit rating. Who knows. You might need to buy a house or something and then find out too late.

On another note, your identity can be stolen even if you have never used the internet. So checking to make sure all your sites are secure won't always help. Your data is stored electronically through other companies and government agencies.

In situation when you get nasty stuffs while using surfing internet and are not able to remove them from your PC. Then you require Reimage Spyware Removal Tool. It provides you full protection from malwares and able to PC related issues. It helps in fighting daily problems such as malware attacks or other type of software problems. It protects the computer system by identifying the scammers or hackers and therefore prevents from attacks. It is easy to use and has user friendly interface so it is beneficial for both technical as well as non-technical users.

For More Information: http://blog.softwaredownloadcentre.com/protect-online

Thats quite a good one...it is very necessary to protect your passwords...some of the ways you can do this is by;

1) Make sure you dont type ur passwords in public computers because u dont know what softwares might have been installed....some fraudsters use softwares know as keyloggers...which will store all keystrokes u have typed and may even capture screen shots of ur activities...I believe this is where most victims of frauds lie in.

2)Make sure u have a good antispyware/anti virus on ur personal computer, this is because ur computer may be vulnerable to password/document hijack without u knowing it.

3)if u r using a Personal computer that conatins confidential documents like; phone numbers, addresses, credit cards or even postal codes....always protect ur pc with a password

4)Beware of the people you chat with on net...cos they may be very trickish(i mean very trickish)..but that doesn't make u
be rude..

not much really - I hope that my providers have it covered

Secure site (SSL) for the initial data transaction along with the "public/private key" encryption technology. That is usually not the weak point though. Use ONLY use your own PC that ONLY you have access to. Do not use "Public" access points for personal info and defiantly be proactive in monitoring your financial statements & credit reports in order to clear it up is there is a security failure anywhere in the process. Also change ALL passwords frequently & don't use common language in them. Keep them as random as possible !!! (ex:bdz56156RFS16F)

How do protect yourself? well I would like to know that my self. I Am getting that paranoid Im scare to order anything on line. So where do we go from here?. Alba

Check out this out

Its the a list of ways to prevent identity theft.

http://ihatebull.com/2007/04/top-ten-ways-to-prevent-identity-theft.html

don't give out any personal info in emails from unknown senders and if you have lime wire or any other software like there get a spyware scanner that checks every time you log on use fire wall for added safety.

Never do business with any organization that asks you for money upfront. If they ask you for funds pertaining to your online training or kits to buy, they are always scams. Unless you are dealing with a reputable business, any information you post could be used to steal your identity, etc. Also, you can almost count on losing all money that you invest.

I would download and install "Spyware Blaster" and "Spyguard". Spyware Blaster prevents programs from installing on your PC without your knowledge. Do not allow Google or similar programs to remember your online form history. It is also recommended that you have at least three spyware programs and 1 virus program installed on your PC. A router would also be very benificial. Change these settings Internet Explorer; Tools/Internet options/Privacy, now click on Advanced and make sure you have third party cookies set to block. I also added a link for much more info. Smart thinking and good question. You can never be too careful.

If you on line shop you should always have a SSL cert identification, a https on the browser window or on the bottom of the page a small lock should appear this guarantees that this is a secure site. Some on line merchants go so far as getting user authentication which prompts the purchaser for even more personal id , such as mother's maiden name , soc sec, date of birth before the shopping transaction is completed.
Also look for any seal that shows that the website is secure.
ex.) Verisign or Anti hack proof.

As on line merchants we have so much to loose when we process a fraudulent transaction we loose the merchandise, we loose the money and we loose our merchant reputation as too many bad transactions can lead to loosing our ability to process credit card transactions all together.

We do everything possible to protect ourselves and our clients.

scan for viruses often and spyware as well.
Use you head, Never give out your passwords.
Do not respond to emails that request an update in bank or creditcard information.

Create a ghost ideentity.Use Prepaid gift mastercards for online purchaces .Use a proxy server to re route and reassign your Ip address
and always enter false inforation on your location. I often use Antartica for my country.Or 1234 BatonRouge ST. LOS ANGELES,NY

After you do your banking delete your temp. files and cookies

Use a good Spam Blocker to block the unwanted cotents.

Keep your computer free from virus's, trojans and other nasties by:

1. Updating your operating system regularly (usually Microsoft Windows Updates).

2. Use a good anti-virus program (it can be a free one such as the one provided free by Grisoft called AVG

3. Use a Spyware program, a good one is Spybot Search & Destroy (also FREE) from Safernetworking.

4. Spywareblaster from Javacool

5. Ad-aware from lavasoft.

With that lot, you should be fine, but you must update them at least once per week....

i do a few things to protect myself online -- i create good passwords to begin with -- anytime i use the internet for a purchase i make sure the search bar is yellow colored and is locked and secure --- i run a adware spyware program everyday to look for intruders -- i run an antivirus scan every week -- i do regular updating --not only windows but browsers,antivirus and spyware program --- i also use this site called grc.com steve gibson is pretty sharp --- im also very careful with what link i click on -- dont just click on any link --- i also run firefox as a browser -- i also use a router -- and i run wireless to it -- i also have my computer windows password protected -- these are just a few examples -- if im in doubt about a link i will google search the name first to see if it legit

go to www.tools4free.net

No way.Donot trust any site.

update you firewall or system in time ,and not logon some web not regular or unco,and not talk something inportant when in a chatroom ....,shoping online where must be structed

if that ever comes up u should get police

use nicnames

protect my yahoo id

I don't use the internet...haha...not true.

Actually, I have a separate credit card that is ONLY used for online shopping. NO monster credit limit and it get's paid in full each month. Just make a quick list of the things you buy online on a piece of scratch paper near your computer (no need to go back and look at all those "confirmations") and when the bill comes, check them off.

Also, you really need to keep track of passwords. Don't use the same ones everywhere. Especially when it comes to banking.

Then keep a good virus program and personal firewall system up to date. Run the updates at least once a week to be sure.

I use zone alarm security suite which has identity protection that puts all your passwords and any other valuable info into a vault.

[email protected]

i do not use my credit card

I really NEVER give out any personal info except my FIRST NAME. If i am buying i make sure it is secure and has a Verisign or something.

I always enter the incorrect username/password/credit card number first to verify whether the website able to give error message about my incorrect details. By doing this, you will be able to know whether the website is genuine site or not. Someone have tried to scam me before, and you know what..I purposely enter incorrect username and password and surprisingly..I got authenticated. Before making any transaction online, first think smart and and never trust anyone.

knowing what they are doing is the first and foremost fact.
Your bank never asks you to update your account via emails and links. they already have that information and your telephone number.
using secure connections. (lock in the corner of your browser)
using non guessable passwords.
antivirus
firewalls

Also make sure you use anti-spyware and that you check for spyware prior to submitting important information. Some spyware could track or record your keystrokes.

don't give out social sercuity.

I only use trusted online companies to shop with.

Abstinence.

I seldom conduct business online, and when I do, I make sure the site is legitimate. I also look for indications that they are using a secure line, etc. Still doesn't totally protect me, but I feel better about it.

I know people who do everything online: banking, credit cards payments, shopping, eBay, etc. And they have never had a problem. I also know people who get spam emails (phishing) and immediately respond with all their private information. It's a matter of education and experience.

I refuse to ever type in my extremely Personal data such as my SS number,birth-date,etc. In Purchases,I find it on web,and call the organization to submit required data. If I cannot call the vendor-then I do not buy their products. For example a hacker MAY hack my machine--but that kind of data simply is NOT there to see.

Fantastic Question.....

Identity Theft is at a record all time high. Phishing attempts are carried out at an alarming 14.8 billion perday thru Email attacks alone.

Protecting yourself is of the utmost importance so I shun those who respond with a quick generic response. This question deserves a real honest answer so here you go.

Following these guidelines can greatly reduce your risk of identity theft.

1. Credit Card useage is about safer than paying cash now-a-days. With the added security on your banks end, a credit card can really only be used to buy items. Now you require more than a credit card and a name to access personal data.

2. When using ATM machines, be cuatious of persons using cell phones close by. It is a very common for a theif to pose as an innocent patron innocently chatting it up with his imaginary girlfriend. Actually what the theif is doing is simply snapping pics of your hands at the control pad. Smart huh. All he has to do then is take the photo of the transaction and he has your card number, your pin number, even your ballance. Most Mom and Pop stores will do a manual credit card entry if the patron know the information right off the top of their head.

3. NEver release personal information from companies that you DO recognize as companies you do business with. If you know the company and have done business with them, then they should have your info on file. If you think it's harmelss, ask for a number to call. Then look that company up and match the numbers. I say if I do biz with "X" Company and one day I get an email saying their pc crashed and they need to rebuild records. I'd call them personally to give my data.

4. Giving personal data out to unknown companies should be handled the sameway, or setup a Paypal accoutm apply for a paypal credit card and use it for your internet transactions. If it get's stolen, it's only worth what you have in paypal. And odds are you can liquidate your paypal faster than the thief can.

Be advised tho, Paypal is one of the largest targets for phishing.

5. Social Security Numbers are no longer a threat to you. With the growth and awareness of ID Theft, Social Security numbers are no longer able to be used to access personal data. Instead now it's a 2nd form of ID that can only confirm your name. Still, leaving your Social Security number out of unsecured transactions is smart becuase as it IS a 2nd form of ID, it's the last peice the Theif needs to literally assume your identity. If he has your credit card, name, address, phone, and social.... He's you...

I always recommend creating a false identity and use it when you susoect a fishing attempt. Never use real login data to test a theory.

If you need more help with identity theft check out http://identitytheftnow.com

I make sure the company is trustable first. Yahoo answers is a great way to check this. WOT extension for firefox is another way to check this. Or if you google the company and its not at the top of the list, don't use it. Thats about it for now.

BIG C AND BASIL HAVE SAID IT ALL

Dont use anything with your social sec.or credit cards I dont even use my first name when i am useing my last you can never be to careful!

Don't put it on the computer in the first place. OR - Do all your transactions on a second computer with different email than you commonly use.

I think that is best use firefox as opposed to internet explorer, It typically runs more website, more smoothly, and it is also a lot more secure than Internet Explorer.

IF U HAVE YAHOO ON YOUR COMPUTER WHEN U LOG ON OR SIGN IN IT WILL ASK U ABOUT THAT AND THEN 2X CLICK ON IT AND THEN AWNSER THE QUESTIONS THEY ASK U THEN U SHOULD BE COVERED

Pay pal is good. any anti phishing program will give you adiquate protection.

A few years ago the greatest security decision was installing an antivirus software program and when to do a full system scan - what day and time weekly. Today it is mandatory to have paid subscription firewall, antivirus, and antispyware programs installed and running constantly - automatically and manually updated as well as performing full scans at least once or twice weekly. With antispyware programs, this applies only to those with active real time shields that are available only in the top sellers on the market.

Without all these your personal information and computer are at total risk of malware infection and hijacking to a cybercriminals intentions. It is just that black and white with no gray at all. Anyone say different they are lying to you and do not believe them. There are no free programs that will protect you. Real time protection is only activated by paid subscription. In other words you need about one hundred dollars per year to keep protected. You might do well with aq free firewall - but the paid subscription firewalls have shredders of any personal numbers or addresses for anywhere and everwhere that would be leaked.

Free antivirus and free antispyware does not protect you. They have no real time protection. This is what you need to understand. In free programs you can do a scan for threats. However a virus can install and corrupt files. A worm can install and destroy software and the Operating System after sending up to thousands of spam messages from your computer and possibly leading to suspension of your ISP subscription as that is illegal.

Adware can install and leak browsing information about you and drive you crazy with advertisiing pop ups until you uninstall it with an antispyware program. The pop ups may be extrememly dangerous containing malware or linking to it.

Spyware can install and transmit practically everything you have and are doing on your computer until it is uninstalled by antispyware programs.

So with paid subscription real time protection antivirus and antispyware software programs - they will block these things from installing and spying on you or corrupting and destroying files. It is too late in other words with free programs to scan for and remove threats that do not offer the real time protection for severe threats such as worms that can erase and destroy your software and even delete and destroy the Windows Operating System. With spyware - it can send back copies of all your files which may include personal financial information that will be used to conduct Identity Theft. It can also transmit everything you are looking at on your computer screen (screenshots) and everything you are typing (keyloggers) back to cybercriminals on the other end. It is too late then to perform a full scan with free programs to have stopped this from ocurring - though you may be able to detect and remove it. How often do people do a full scan with free stuff ? Hardly ever actually, though there are those that scan daily after or before each session on the computer.

So without real time protection you and your computer are at total risk to all cybercriminal activity. The other side of things are the hacker break ins to sensitive data on the other side of the net like the recent TJMax break in and millions of accounts exposed. It is feared that all transactions will soon cease on the internet actually in all security circles. You can see this anywhere by using a search engine and check out security news sources. The amount of data thefts on the business level have actually spiraled out of control in the last 18 months. Check any news source.

I personally am about to throw in the towel of preaching security (I run a security website) and just tell the truth and explain the internet is no longer safe - period. And there are millions upon millions of people like me saying the same thing this year - 2007. We are waiting for the American Government to repsond. Look up malware botnets. See the annual four percent of Americans as ID Theft victims and growing.

What people should be doing is checking what level of security (encryption) the site they are dealing with HAS!!..as well as having quality up to date anti virus ware and the like.
I must say, that you already know this...who are you working for?..LOL

The best protection is prevention.

Their are many banks which provide 1 time cards,so they can be used to do online purchae where you don't have to pay agaian and again.

I work in the credit card chargeback department for a large foodchain, so I deal with identiy theft on a dialy basis by the hundreds. My advice:
*try to keep as few credit and debit cards as possible. It's much easier to check your statements to make sure you authorized every purchase when you only have 1-5 cards as opposed to 10-20 statements
*Keep all of your receipts to match them with your statements
*When you go to restaurants, try to pay with cash if possible, because its too easy for the waiter to write down everybit of infomation they need from your credit card as possible. Ecspecially when you are traveling
*If you see a charge you do not recognize, contact your bank ASAP. Don't just assume you are forgetting what you bought that day. The bank can contact the business and ask for a copy of their receipt for the transaction so you can verify if you've authorized that puchase. If there is one charge on your statement that you did not authorize, there is a 90% chance someone has your credit card information!

i never ever give my password or username to anyone. and i don't use credit card that make life more easy.

I damn bother. If I am open and truthful I need not worry about these things.

Well, you can put up online security, spy software so no one will read or see your private stuff, or anti virus software.

Don't click on links in your e-mail from those who says that there are from the banking company . Please remember that banks will never ask you to log in into ur account by way of e-mail . & don't forget to use anti-phishing software to minimise the threat of phishing .

Clean your cache files after each use. Use ccleaner. it will clear all passwords and other information you input.

don't give away details online...

if you have to enter your password more than once then do not type anything in because this is something hackers do to find out passwords. hope this helps

if somebody hacked to ur site than we should make site in html and linux code so that no one can easily hacked on.and if they try to hacked credit card that u should no fill up forms which ask u to enter credit cards.
if u get regular email of such sites than we can block those site in our yahoo site protection ..we can go in option and there we can block those site

99% of all personally information stolen 'on-line' is not actually stolen on-line. Most of it is stolen by breaking into computers of companies that have the information on file. Breaking into an insurance company computer gives access to EVERY customers data, even if they opened the policy in the agents office and never touch a computer. Nearly all of the rest is GIVEN away by the 'victims'. There are actually less than a dozen scams out there and no one bothers inventing new ones because the old ones still work. Computers have NOT increased fraud or ID theft, they just made it easier.

well for me saftey if very important. Even if i live in a smalller town there are still cases of rape and other sexual related acts. Actually there was a montel williams show about myspace and protecting yourself. i think it was a very interesting and i learned a lot. A local case was being described on it. So i payed very close attention. Basically overall i don't give out my phone number, location, and i don't post my aim screen name on their anymore. As for aim...if someone im's me and i don't know them i delete them. Also, i rarely give out my age on yahoo answers. and i don't give it out on myspace. I really think that more people, especially younger ones should take more caution.

First - you go to the site - if the site comes to you via e-mail soliciting money , credit card or atm card information it is nearly always a fraud.
Next - only go to sites that have some sort of protection like secure sites.
Most important - use sites you know well (like your bank) for the bulk of your transactions like paying bills or moving money around.
The fewer entities you have to deal with the better and the more secure your data will be.
Never fall for the "This expensive gift (or prize) is totally free - we only ask that you pay the shipping charges by giving us your credit card number"

Protecting your privacy on the Internet must be tackled from several angles. First, follow the general advice on protecting your privacy. Next, make sure you only use websites with acceptable privacy policies.

Look for a privacy policy statement or seal that indicates the site abides by privacy standards. Take time to read how your privacy is protected.
Look for signals that you are using a secure web page. A secure site encrypts or scrambles personal information so it cannot be easily intercepted. Signals include a screen notice that says you are on a secure site, a closed lock or unbroken key in the bottom corner of your screen, or the first letters of the Internet address you are viewing changes from "http" to "https."
A relatively new threat to your privacy is spyware, which is sneaky software that rides its way onto computers during the download of screensavers, games, music and other applications. Spyware sends information about what you're doing on the Internet to a third-party usually to target you with pop-up ads. You will need to install anti-spyware to stop this new threat to your privacy.

Protecting Children Online
The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act requires commercial websites to obtain parental consent before collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from children under 13. For more information, contact the FTC or click on Kids Privacy at www.ftc.gov.

Very easy be careful.

Try not to enter information onto websites, such as credit card numbers and passwords. This creates cookies which people will get a hold of and get the saved information.

Also do not save any information like that on your computer. Put it on a flash drive or burn it to a cd.

Simple. Know how private is stolen and then think up preventive measures OR use anti hack software

I have an incredibly difficult password to decipher, and I have over 10 which I use on separate paying sites.

with a phishing filter and check

There really is no foolproof way to PREVENT Identity Theft, since there are billions of places where your personal information is already stored--not necessarilly in your direct control, and at the tender mercies of those who would be stewards of that information, such as banks, government offices, information clearinghouses, and even medical offices. One's information is already "out there," and there's nothing anyone can do to prevent someone from using one's personal information.

Having said that, the way that I personally shield my information (in the best way that I can) from online fraud and Identity Theft is to observe "online common sense" practices. One common-sense practice that I observe with regards to my e-mail is to NEVER, EVER, EVER click on links in e-mails that are supposedly from "trusted" websites, which ask me to enter my personal login or identification info when I click on the e-mail link for that site. These types of e-mails are commonly known as "Phishing" e-mails, and they're designed to confuse the person into giving the Identity Thief exactly what they're looking for: direct, unambiguous access to your good name. I can't count the number of times I've gotten this type of fraudulent e-mail that are supposed to be from PayPal, eBay, my own bank--even banks that I've never had accounts with! I also NEVER answer any "I have money for you" e-mails. There's a reason these so-called "Nigerian" e-mail scams are still popular: some people still don't get that a stranger would not normally send out an e-mail to some random person in an attempt to get a partner in a financial transaction. They answer the e-mail, and if they follow the scammer's instructions, they're hooked into the game, and it gets uglier from there. (I think ABC did a 20/20 segment on the Nigerian scams once.)

Other common-sense precautions for limiting information that I follow are making sure that when I do perform sensitive transactions online, that the "locked" icon is activated on the webpage that I'm using. If I get an error message, or that lock icon isn't visible (or the web address panel isn't yellow, for Firefox users), then I'm not going through with that transaction, trusted site or no.

The only thing that I don't keep as "sacred" as the rest of my information is my e-mail address, and I only display that on certain personal sites, like my Blog and my Ecademy website. It's fine to protect your personal information online, but it's counterproductive--and a bit antisocial, to me at least--to hide your neutral contact information on sites that supposedly invite people to make connections. It's sort of like saying "Hi, nice to meet you, I'm not telling you my name because I don't trust you, but thanks for saying hi, anyway." Not a good social policy, at least for me. I do pay a price for that semi-openness--once I got "spam" e-mail, with the spammer using MY OWN ADDRESS as the "sender"!! I was like "That's a new wrinkle on the spamming scam!" However, I make liberal use of the "Delete" button, and just laugh at the spambot's futile attempts to get me down.

Last but not least, in order to defend myself from the threat of an Identity Theft event, I've invested in a top-of-the-line Identity Theft protection service that includes "restoration services" in the event of my identity being compromised. When I researched the service I use now, I loved the fact that I would get monthly monitoring reports, and I would be "pinged" immediately if something looked off on my credit report. ("Ma'am, there's a change of address order for your mail to be forwarded to Timbuktu. Is this okay?") It's like having property insurance for my good name, and I won't ever be without this kind of protection.

To summarize, online sharing of my info is okay, in my own mind, as long as I don't just fling my info into the void without some sort of protection. I can't control that other guy on the end of the phone who's planning on running off with the company computer, but I can make darn sure that I don't voluntarilly give it to them when they do!

Do not respond to unsolicited e-mails from companies with which you do business requesting that you re-validate personal information or that link to Web sites requesting that you re-validate personal information. Should you receive such an e-mail, contact the company directly via phone or by typing in their home URL directly to determine the validity of the e-mail.

Oceanside Bank will never send you an e-mail asking for your passwords, credit card numbers or other sensitive information. If you believe someone is trying to commit fraud by pretending to be Oceanside Bank, please contact Ann Van Voorst or Pete Cagle at 904-247-9494 immediately.

If e-mails or Web sites contain typographical or grammatical errors, review them carefully as these are often signs of fraud attempts to compromise your information.

Do not click on "links" you receive in an e-mail message. Open your browser and enter the address directly.

Do not share your ID or password with anyone.

Change your password regularly.

Only provide your personal or account information online to sites you trust and where you initiated the contact.

Remember to sign off the Web site once you have submitted an application or completed a secure online session.

When your computer is not in use, shut it down or disconnect it from the Internet.

Only provide your ID and password when your browser indicates an encrypted connection. An encrypted connection is normally indicated by an "https://" in your browser's address bar in front of the address of the page you are visiting.

If you think you may have provided information to a fraud perpetrator, change your password immediately and monitor your account activity frequently.

Install current versions of virus detection software, firewalls and spyware scanning tools to reduce computer infections. Regularly update these tools to combat new threats.

Automatic upgrades. We recommend that you purchase a program that automatically upgrades your virus protection on a recurring basis. If you currently do not have this automatic upgrade feature, make sure you update your virus detection program weekly and when you hear of a new virus.

Attachments: We advise not to open attachments or diskettes unless you are certain that you can trust the source. Learn how to manually screen diskettes and attachments if your anti-virus software does not automatically screen for viruses.

I pity the poor fool who steals my identity.

The only thing I know how to do is using the anti-virus co., and good spyware, to keep the hackers out. INTERNET SECURITY , I hate to say, is a joke, as it lets these rip off anti-virus co. put viruses in our computers, then advertise they can remove them. WHY DOES CO. LIKE DRIVECLEANER, who install malaware in your computer, advertise on the net. Look up drivecleaner, how to get rid of, and they will tell you, how many co. are invading your pc, because of drivecleaner. I do not buy anything on the net because of the many security breaches we have on the net. I wish there was some kind of excellent software to install that could track these no good rip offs down and shut them down for good, and keep these viruses, out of our computers. What does the government do to protect against hackers? Look at all the data they have on their harddrives, and how do they keep this safe? The anti-virus co. called INTERNET SECURITY,took over my pc, until I cleaned it, and downloaded, a good anti-virus co. and spyware to go with it.

NEVER give out you credit card number or you SS# to an unsecure website.

i know the diff between bank email and phising. i just repoted it yesteday to have the bank and fbi track them down by location. people pls do not open mail like this and before you begin to fill out anything online contact your bank the real one first!

i rarely order online and when i do i go to only legit big site and look for the verisign and other icons that show the site is legit. another way is going to

www.buysafe.com to

a. avoid fraud and theft of the debit, credit card no and

b to avoid buy fake counterfiet items that are often made by offshore people who then can steal and sell your id.

never use your real name or addy in groups or sites like this.

i never use my real name in emails and people i email to know why. a real person can call me and vice versa.

i have no listed phone numbers.

you can opt to have your names out of school directories at hs or college.

if you must have a prolfe be vague.

should have a nic stolen i immediately report to the site and my isp. they can fix it asap.

monitor my credit and to my state id site and fcc and other to read up on latest news to help me stay as safe as i can.

tells others and caution others on the net that may be in danger of going in the danger zone.

To be totally safe and secure, you have to... Oh wait. It is impossible. Everything in life carries some amount of risk. Never mind.

Plus this question is really two separate questions, but the narrative is nothing about fraud and all about identity theft.

I say remove this question and stop polluting the net with inanity. :D

I dont have a credit card, and i wouldnt use it over the net anyways, i just use the internet for research and find out why one's better than the other and then go and get whatever im looking for myself in person so theres no worries about losing the package because the address was mislabeled or delivered to my neighbor.

hi
Well dear we need to always update our information on the Internet frauds. It is very obvious that all those people who are indulged in frauds keep deriving new methods and hence either you just don't trust anyone except known people or keep yourself updated.
To keep yourself updated you can log on to sites which talk about Internet frauds. There are several forums today in which everyone contributes on the type of frauds.
So personally i keep myself updated and deal with financial transactions only with secured / authentic sites.
For you i recommend following things:-
1. Keep yourself updated.
2. Become a member of such forum. It will help.
3. When you get a mail through a server etc try and log into the profile of individual. If its hidden/ unreliable to you, just don't trust.
4. Financial transactions should be minimal and only with reliable sites.
5. Use means like pay pal etc. These methods are safer.
6. When you come to know about a fraud, update everyone else too on it.
Happy surfing

Online Fraud, you just have to be careful. Identity theft you can install spyware on your system helps a bit.

thank you for your question.
1. l will create a personal sign-in seal that only me and users of me computer known about.
2. l will tied sign-in seal in my computer,not my yahoo id,

never give your email address to any one even if you know them, they could give it to anyone with out you knowing

I don't buy anything online or do any finacial bussiness online. I just don't take the chance

Hi,
Well nowadays the payment websites are getting more secured due to various strong encryption process while sending confidential information over the net. And banks like HSBC have come up with a small hardware key chain which generates a security code when transacting, which is a double security to customers whose passwords have been hacked. Coz the security code is a random value and keeps on changing every time. And if u feel ur keys may be logged while transacting then u can use the on screen keyboard which will prevent trapping of keys pressed during transacting. Also one should avoid copying the credit card numbers and passwords in clipboard (ctrl+c and all) coz some viruses stores the clipboard contents which may be harmfull.

don't go online...that's the only way to fully protect yourself. most of the big sites have security where they scramble all the info...but remember it doesn't take asecurity breach online at all my hubby had his name and social stolen by a friend and they screwed his credit up.. now we can't buy anything

I use Firefox.

Keep an encrypted wireless connection and ensure that my antivirus and several antispywares are up to date- not to mention the firewall. Only trust known sites and double check the URL before entering any financial information, as many phishing scams involve sites such as www.gooogle.com or www.bankofaamerica.com or other common typos to gather information. Keep my passwords individualized for the websites in question and relatively difficult to guess while easy to remember.

Never ever use credit cards on the net.All personal info must be treated as if your life depends on it.New credit card offers in the US mail system if you don't use them make sure you shred all paperwork etc etc etc.Look around when at ATM's make sure no no can see you enter pin #'s.And absolutely never give a voice on the telephone any type of personal info account #'s credit card #'s,pin #'s don't let your guard down. This is the only way that you will know for sure do this all the time and it will become 2nd nature.

ALWAYS check for the small lock at the bottom of the website. It SHOULD BE LOCKED which means it is a secure and confidential transaction if you are buying something.
Be aware of phishing schemes that get to give up your personal information
Be sure to use secure servers.
Check your computer once in a while for spyware.
Tell your children the dangers of the internet and to be careful what they enter online

STOP VISITING THOSE STUPID WEBSITES

I never allow my browser to save my passwords; I write them down in a secured location. I even use a simple code when writing them down just in case. I use the Norton protection suite AND Zone Alarm firewall. I regularly run AdAware and Spybot. I, of course, keep all my protection software updated. I also severely limit the number of places I give my credit card number (better to pay a bit more and be more secure).
Finally, and I think most important, I have one credit card that is used ONLY for online transactions. I told my credit card company that this is the case and they put a "spending limit" on the card. If I want to spend more in a single transaction I call them and they up the limit for that single transaction. So far it has worked (knock wood).

I make up strong passwords. I keep a list of clues to my passwords to help me remember them. I also check my credit card statement each month to make sure all charges make sense. I never enter my SSN online unless it's a very trusted company.

if those hackers can get into the govs high tech secure info, then they can surely hack ours as well.

ID Theft is out of control (10 million people per year IDs stolen), so its up to us to use common sense... and keep tabs on our credit reports to look for activity or accounts we didnt open.



1) run a free credit report from each agency (your allowed one free one per year, per agency). you need to know, so you need to get them.
2) if ID Theft has occured, you need to make a police report first. the rest of what you need to do, is listed in the links below (with GREAT info too).
3) some states allow you to 'lock' or 'freeze' credit reports; to protect against theft. if your state allows it, lock 'em down. that way, no one can open an account on them.
4) once you discover their credit reports have activity on them, then contact each credit reporting agency (the 3 major ones) and report the ID Theft... and request the lock on the reports (usually they automatically do it, but ask for it anyway).

ID THEFT HELP/ INFO
http://www.idtheftcenter.org/index.shtml
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/
http://www.fraudguides.com/consumer-identity-theft-children.asp
http://www.ripoffreport.com/
http://www.fightidentitytheft.com/
http://www.ncpc.org/media/current.php
https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/widtpubl$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU03
http://www.myidfix.com/



CREDIT REPORT INFO / REPAIRS
http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/starting/archive/2007/st0221.htm
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20040116b1.asp
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/helpfaq
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/forms/credit-report-error-fix.asp
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/bankruptcy/20070313_credit_report_stains_a1.asp
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/forms/credit-report-error-fix.txt
http://bankrate.com/

TO ORDER A FREE CREDIT REPORT
(all three are free once a year)
NEW LAW: FREEZE YOUR
CREDIT REPORT (NJ)!!
(state.nj.us/dobi/creditfreeze.htm)

Equifax
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374
www.equifax.com
1-800-685-1111
_______________
Experian
P.O. Box 19719
Irvine, CA 92623
www.experian.com
1-888-397-3742
_______________
TransUnion
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022
www.transunion.com
1-800-916-8800

I downloaded the latest Norton version of 'puter protection', cost a pretty penny, but i feel its worth it!!!!
I only update my trac phone online and Norton products. no other transactions........its not worth the worry, and banking is autopay, keeps check writing to a minimum, JUST BE ALERT when doing any business over the 'net'.......S/ from ohio...........

Apart from being discriminating about opening unsolicited emails
- activate full headers so you can see the full route the email message is traversing; origin of email usually appears; you may think a message originates in one country but header may suggest something different
- if you do not buy a ticket for a lottery or enter of your own free will; it is highly unlikely you won the lottery
- use you intuition; if it raises any suspicions in your mind; think again before you proceed any further
- you can research online for fraudulent bank accounts all over the world & you may find the name of the person in the email

I LOVE online shopping and do it quite frequently.
So my credit card account numbers are out there -
So I call the credit card and tell them I lost it. . . . they change the account number by sending my a new credit card. Now I have a clean slate (so to speak) --
Also -- I use paypal
PayPal seems very secure

Je ne peux pas comprendre pourquoi soignerait. ...so peut-être vous pourriez me dire que parce que mon nombre de carte de crédit a été volé deux fois.

GOOD LUCK!

# Whe only thing other than not getting online is using common sense. run updated anti virus and firewall software. do not respond to phishing scams as no reputable company will solicit nonpublic information from you in an email. know who you are doing business with online. read merchant reviews if purchasing from a company or individual.

well its easy all you do is (DON'T TALK TO PEOPLE YOU DONT KNOW)(OR JUST DONT GIVE ANYBODY YOURE ASL!!!!)

I only used valued sources such as ebay, amazon, and my school website(to pay for classes) that's it

When I'm done online I delete my history page, delete my files, and delete my cookies just for extra precaution

We shread our letters, and bills before throwing away

Don't answer a IRS e-mail. They don't E-mail you.

I don't do any business with any group or company that I don't know and/or respect. I use Norton which blocks out a lot of attempts on my computer and I use several types of spyware that pick up on and stop tracking and other attempts on my computer.

I also do constant cleaning of my computer and get rid of all cookies and other junk that I pick up when visiting sites.

I also check security certificates and other measures that make online activity safe. I also have fraud monitoring on my computer.

I never open an email that is from someone I don't know or recognize. I have spam coverage as well. My IP address is hidden from hackers and etc.

I am sure that I missed something, but I have taken all the precautions that I know how to take.

used computers are very cheap so get one and have nothing on it other than what you need to do your buying on line and your banking. Do not use it to search the web for anything. Yes have the security items and you should have no problems at all.

I do not keep my confidential data in the computer I connect to the internet, so I have nothing to lose... In short, I do not trust machines as it is produced by human beings...may be, if someone from outer space had invented I`ld have changed my mind...

minimize giving of personal data to others.

It could help if you have an anti-hacker software

We actually have one specific, relatively low-limit credit card that is used solely for online purchases and is not linked to any other accounts. That way, we are less likely to miss a fraudulent charge when checking the bill that comes in. Also, if something ever does happen, we know exactly which company we need to notify before taking any other steps.

Who is no name (name is blank).sounds like one not to open emails from

Well I can tell you that I HAVE been a victim of identity theft. I no longer buy off of the internet. That is how I protect myself. I have contacted the FDA and my local police station. I just don't give personal information on line. That is how I protect myself. It is difficult to get credit after that happens to you. It is not a fun thing to experience.

Hi how you

On online frauds please ensure the identity of the party to whom you are transacting. Keep on changing your password. Never give your card to any one . Have reconciliation of your account on weekly basis. Keep record of all transactions.

don't save passwords, clean machine everytime i use it, dont use public pc's

CHANGE PASSWORD OFTEN

To protect yourself from these frauds, see to it that you don't always use important information on unnecessary transactions.

Contact the credit bueau agency and stated that you like to have a Identity alert set up on your name/account. That no one else except you can use your ID. So from that point on, anyone who tried to used your name or ID will be flagged as a online fraud!

first of all
1) i should use strong anti virus to protect me
2) only give this informations to trusted sites
3) never download any files without scanning it because it may contain patches that hack my passwords numbers

make sure you read everything carefully!

just dont giv eup your personal information specially your name and your birthday

You can delete all your spam and not respond to obvious Nigerian scams.

never give out your social sicurity number and also ur moms maiden name
if u dont give those out then ur safe for sure.

You should only be using one credit card for online purchases. Also, make sure that you only use a credit card that has a very low credit limit.

I have previously mentioned to you that people are subjected to the unlicensed use of "Suggestive Therapeutics" and you choose to ask questions rather then provide statements. Yahoo is probably one of the leaders in promoting identity theft by their chat rooms and 360 profiles and the like witch promote hypnosis or giving the availabilty of information to others without knowing, photo's. I have had a site deleted from Yahoo that explained the ill affects of hypnosis and this leads me to believe that the benefit from its use. I also believe, in your corporate elite statues, that you to must benefit or you too would have a sight talking of the ill effects of hypnosis. Thanks for the two points and maybe you should look at another site I have. http://www.Hypnotic-Consequences.com but I am sure you are afraid of your consequences.

I don't have a credit card and If I want something off the net I use snail mail.If I can't buy it like that I wait till I can.I only usually buy games anyhow.

Spam emails u don't know or care about

Don't use your Credit cards or Debit cards to purchase
on line
Pay with money orders or cashier checks.
With good Knowledge and learn the hard way Pay pal and eBay is a good example!!
I purchase from eBay through pay-pal and they tried to steal $551.00 + out of my checking account Thank God I had a question protection on my account.
And there's no catching who it was !!

Some scammers try to scare you into thinking that someone has been trying to gain access to an account of yours
If you should get an email from paypal, eBay, or any other place that wants to direct you to a page that looks exactly like ebay or paypal, or some other business, be sure that you look for the "s" in the address of the sender as in https. The "s" stands for secure and if it's not there, it's a fraud.

honestly,nothing works!the idea of wall chinese was to protect from the attack of the enemies at the moment and to push them to wait for right standing up in front of the wall so they could attack them from the top,guess what,they had crossed without any kind of noise, the enemies paid to the guards of the few doors and that was it.the same with all around if there is not integrity,the enemies will cross for ever ever!

i do not talk to them

Don't do business online that you can do within 15 minutes of home.
Do not add yourself to online lists such as job seeking sites, contests, newsgroups, and chat-lines unless you have intention of doing constructive business and have researched the site. Even then, give false or bare minimum information that still allows you to conduct your business.
Never reply to unsolicited E-mails or strange E-mails that are out of character for that contact. This includes contests for which you did nothing to enter yourself.
Do business only with reputable sites.
Don't use E-mails to share address/phone information if it can be avoided.
Block pop-ups and spyware when possible.
Use privacy settings on your computer to prevent other potential online or offline users from obtaining account information. For example: encrypt all passwords and make sure file sharing is disabled. Turn off auto-complete.
Don't share online accounts. Your friend/roommate/visitor may be less careful than you because it isn't their account. Instead, encourage them to buy their own access, create a new account for them if your IP allows, or introduce them to the joy of library computers.

Use only trusted sites is what I do. If there's a site I'm not sure about, I try to see if they will accept paypal. By not giving your card # out to a million different sites, it reduces the # of people that it is exposed to that might steal it and use it.

For online fraud, most credit card companies will protect you if you dispute the charge. As for identity theft - I suggest subscribing to a service where your credit report is monitored, and you are notified of ANY activity.

It's VERY IMPORTANT to monitor your credit - that is the best protection.

if i have a hungaryian residance i need any visa to visite holand or no?

Don't use debit cards. Credit cards are actually more secure and easier to identify fraud charges on than debit cards. When possible use paypal for payments, or better yet don't shop online and support your local economy by getting out of your house and off our ever growing rears.

When I receive online receipts, I print them. Then the shred them when my item arrives in the mail. I also have virus scan software, etc.

Be careful with your credit card.
And don't give it to anyone and everyone.

I give out a lot on misinformation....

i chang my pass word a lot

You can first off call the Credit Bureaus and have a Protection put on yourself that alerts any new credit requests to be verified through yourself. This is very helpful.
Another option is the Opt out program, you can go to to stop all new creditors from requesting your credit information. This also can help your credit score. It is a wonderful site, that I highly recommend to my Customers who are tired of all the annoying sells calls and mail pieces, and now email pieces you get.
Closing your browser, this is also good to stop any open banking info or Credit Info that you might have had open on line after being on certain sites.
Passwords: Make it a combination password with Caps, and Lower letters and numbers. And try not to have to many different passwords that you have to write them down so that you know what is on what site. Make it a combination that you can can use for everything and only something that you would know. The only other person that should know is a beneficiary in case something were to happen to you. For example my mother has my Password, and it is the only one I use. If you think it has been copied change it now.

DONT PUT ANY INFORMATION ABOUT YOURSELF OR YOUR FINANCES OVER THE INTERNET.

dont use your real name

1st never give info over an unsecure line, and then only if you must
2nd be aware that many are trying to entrap you with their wits for money gain and other illegal gains. I have found also that forcing conversation from your would be associate allows you time to consider whom you are now associated with.
3rdForce them to expose themselves or NO deal...And then they must be associated with some form of Better Business Assocaion and recognized in the community from which they may serve.

I report phishing emails, delete spam, and never, never, never give my credit card number, no matter how secure the site is, online. I'll only patronize companies that will take my money order or check.

i don't give out my personal information like social security number or phone number

I use Norton and also Zone Alarm. I don't open emails that I don't recognize. I report all spam to my ISP provider.

Go to a gypsy and ask for tears and if the gypsy doesnt answer you'll have to say ill force them from you.

I only deal with websites that have been certified by an agency I know and trust, and can also verify that certification. Also, I never give out any details unless I absolutely have to. IE7 has a ne "phishing" filter which means I know the websites I "trust" are not being faked.

never give your details to anyone, if you get a message saying something like i am dying and my family don't like that i am giving the money to charities and would you please help me set up a bank account and you can have a percentage of the money. this is a scam. if you are told you have won a million dollars don't give your credit card details. basically if it looks like a duck sounds like a duck then its most likely a duck. So it it looks to good to be true then it is not true. also have a anti virus installed on your computer, when getting rid of the computer make sure to remove your hard disk when getting rid of a computer. because with a little computer knowledge a person can get into your hard disk and recover an awful lot of details about you.

I make sure never to give out anything that could hurt me or be seen. Like my address, my phone number. I also change my password about once a week/

Security Questions:

Date of Birth, use a false one - I add a year, a month and a day to my real one. Only your bank and the government need the real one.

same with "Mother's Maiden Name" and "First School" these are too easy for someone to find out.

Check out the site to avoid phishing, look to see the connection is secure (often a padlock symbol is used), frequently check bank and card accounts, and use generated virtual card numbers for each transaction (via credit card site). A little paranoia helps too:)
Offline I use a shredder and always send mail inside the post office. I never carry my social security number or home address and keep my driver's license in the glovebox.

Opt out of pre-approved credit offers.

I trust NO ONE! When I get an email, I go to the site by typing them into a browser NOT using any link sent thru email! If I think it's a "phishing"scam I expand the headers and then forward all the info to [email protected], and hope that they are indeed trying to track the scammers. I only wish I knew if they really look at these emails...LOL!

Take a look at this presentation..Are you at risk...it will answer anything you need to know!
http://www.myinvisusdirect.com/office/InternetRisk/InternetRisk.html
My name is Jennifer and I am a mother of 5, and I am protected from ALL of these risks that you mention. Let me know what you think after you view!~Jenn

use high level encryption

When I set up profiles for sites that do not require detailed personal info I use a fake phone number, date of birth, and sometimes name. For many sites, there is no real reason to provide your real information. I provide my real information to sites that require it to make transactions. These sites include financial institutions, online retalers etc. These sites have significant regulatory requirements to keep info safe and are open to serious liability if they do not. With that said, choose only reputable institutions when providing your info.

I voluntarily requested a new credit card number from my bank. They said they couldn't issue one unless my card had been lost or stolen!
So I called back a week later and said that I lost it.
They immediately sent me a new card and number.
Seems proactive to me. At least all those previous transactions won't come back to bite me, and I am more careful about how I use my card now.

Never purchase anything on-line. Never bank on-line. Never pay taxes on-line. Never respond in any way to any advertisements viewed on-line. The Internet is an amusing toy, but is simply too dangerous to use for anything practical. All international corporate banking is done with encrypted data. When the US Government decides every citizen's right to absolute privacy supersedes the Dept. of Homeland Security's illegal compulsion to snoop into our private lives, effective encryption will be legalized for all Internet users. When this happens, I will rethink my position. Not before!

Well there are a few simple things:
1. Do not order anything online
2. Use some real good virus software to prevent ID theft.
3. Do not tell anyone your details or give your card to another
4. Use only secure sites that have the padlock at the bottom
5. Look up reviews of that website and weigh up it's good and bad points before buying off of it. If it has bad reviews don't use it
6. Ensure it's trusted. Normally trusted sites have little green go signs at the bottom (not all of them do though)

Don't give your credit card # out. There are too many scams and frauds out there to take a chance.

İ'v given director my bank office.if taken many by anyman in my account bank sent to my mobil fhone a massage for the truth. İf i dont except the massage mybank dos not give the man for the thief

Learn how to tell the difference between a phishing email, and one that is real. Don't give out passwords, or ss# to emails like that, call the company it's supposedly from, and find out. If it is phishing, which it most likely is, I forward it to the company it says it's from, so they are aware of it, and can investigate. I don't keep any email addresses in an online address book, for the reason that it is my understanding that virii generally target the address books to send themselves out to others. If I need a way to remember email addresses, I put them in a hard copy address book, just for that. I do go shopping with credit cards online, with companies I trust, but would rather use paypal, and do so, if possible. I do alot of business shopping online, so I have to have a little faith and trust there, and shop with companies I feel secure with. Apart from Paypal, I don't do any banking online, or manage utility accounts or anything, there is too much potential for system failure, and for glitches in the system to screw things up, and cost me alot, I have seen things like people getting thier power disconnected, even though they paid the bill online, but a system failure prevented them from receiving the payment. I also don't care to manage such accounts online, because the more you have out there, the larger the likely hood that someone will intercept information somewhere along the line.
Maybe when they get the bugs out, but I don't really find that likely to happen.

Do your homework including checking the web site for certified for on-line credit card transaction. Don't go for cheap deal, could be a "to good to be true", and having an alternative plan to your choice: shop at a boutique.

Question comes down is: which one is the most expensive: your identity or few dollars more to spend on an item? There are good sites to shop on the web, but it would not be a bargain!

Do not put that stuff on the computer. Ever. One thing you can do is install the latest Mozilla browser. They have the latest in encryption, and do not go to sites that you do not trust.

There are apparently hackers out there trying to steal anything that is stealable. Even when you try to get into a contest site. If there is money on the table, the hackers are there. CNBC Million Dollar Contest has that problem right now. Hackers are taking trades, you get redirected to a site that looks like CNBC, but it isn't and you can't tell and the people there manipulate your trades so that they are something less profitable than what you originally selected for a trade and they submit those to CNBC so that they can rig the contest to win the money. So there you have a question of a hacker stealing your opportunity. It is everywhere. People are being taught to take the easy way out in society and if they can be smart enough to get away with it, it just happens. Hopefully these thieves will use the money to help society in some good way. Best defense is to learn computer programming and fight back. But how many people are gonna do that?

i am a hacker maself
so i know all da thinkgs someone will do
hence ta t helps me
but i am ready 2 share ma knowldege

1) I ALWAYS register on email and other sites using an alias that is no where near my real name. If AOL or any other email sites tries to assign a user name I always decline all of their suggestions and create my own user name. I never use my real name, address, or phone number, and on places like YAhooAnswers and YAhoo360 I don't put accurate information in all of the personal information fields. The only places that you need accurate information are those where you buy something using a credit card, or for personal bill paying and banking.

2) I use Firefox instead of IE because it is less likely to be hacked.

3) I have a firewall on all of my PC's as well as virus and spam programs.

4) I don't open mail or click on the links in mail from anyone, including friends, and especially if the mail does not explain what the link is and merely says, "click on this, you'll like it".

5) I make all of my online purchases with one credit card, American Express, because it has fraud protection. And I change my credit card number periodically (they will do this for you if you just ask). I NEVER use PalPal as they are subject to fake and hacker sites.

6) I never save my credit card information on web sites.

7) Some web sites now offer a second level of protection in a site key. The Site Key is a photo that you select to put on the real web site's computer (like a cookie) and when you log on if you do not see your site key, you know you are not on the real web site and can terminate the login.

8) I never do any personal business on my laptop or wireless.

I always make sure that the little lock is in the tool bar and also that the page says https if the s isn't there it isn't secure...

My boyfriend and I were nearly defrauded by an on line "Lottery" scam. He was told he had won R2.2 million in our money. It turns out after we investigated it that this was a money laundry operation. We were advised not to give out any information over the net if we wish to remain Fraud victim free

In all of my years of computer using (read ,6 years; I am 11 years old.), there has on;y been one time where I had a breach, and even then, my computer deleted unimportant stuff. I use McAffe to run virus scans every week. I occasionally update by updating Spam Killer. Other than that... nothing much.

I am not telling you any of my secrets, but, I will say this: anyone who uses a password that is a word is stupid, always use letter, number, and other combinations for passwords. Never let a credit card out of your sight at a restaurant, with the little cell phone cameras, it is to easy for someone to get the numbers. Change your passwords often. Do not use the same passwords for multiple accounts at on-line stores. Set up an on-line credit account like Pay-Pal who is responsible after you make an on-line purchase and who always notifies you if your credit card is used. Purchase and use a credit monitoring service. Never ever put your social security number on line unless you initiate the information. Such as filing your income taxes on line. Even this is scary because of all the information you give out when you do that. Do not put your passwords and social numbers in a computer file. If the computer is stolen your out of luck. If you have ever seen the Discovery show It Takes a Thief, you will see they always take the lap-tops or other computers if they can. There is more of course, but I cannot let you have all my secrets.

I buy from the store...

hello, well just be careful trust only secured websites such as HTTPS like ur prev. as another answerer stated. also use only trusted companies, such as paypal. dont buy items online that u have never heard of, constantly monitor ur bank statements etc.. and keep ur computer secured also, run a antivirus, run a good firewall, known spyware, and adware that can get on ur computer can log every keystroke, scary isn't it? I use nortan antivirus, and Zonealarn Pro firewall, No problems here but i dont do a whole lot of online buying etc.. most ur banks, are very secured from online fraud etc.. just use caution ..

i hav a different fake name for everything i sign into

1) I use common sense.

2) I generally don't trust email.

3) I use Mozilla Firefox as my web browser, it's much more secure than Internet Explorer - (http://www.malwaresolutions.com/tools_browsers_firefox.html) - Firefox is Free so there is no excuse!

4) When accessing secure websites (ie: banking sites) I always check to make sure that the url shows a secure connection (ie: begins with https:// or you see a locked pad lock)

5) When I have doubts about a website I do a Google search - chances are that if I should not be on that site someone else has figured it out and posted comments about it online

6) I have a firewall that helps protect my computer from inbound and outbound traffic (ie: Zone Alarm - it's Free for home users - you can find it here - http://www.malwaresolutions.com/tools_firewalls.html )

7) I use anti-virus software, again, everybody should have anti-virus software - for home users there are plenty of free versions out there - my personal favorite is AVG but here is a whole list of free anti-virus products - http://www.malwaresolutions.com/tools_anti_virus.html

8) I use anti-spyware software - again - Free - try SpyBot Search & Destroy, AdAware and Windows Defender (if you are running Windows XP or Vista you can run Defender) - here is a whole list of free anti-spyware products - http://www.malwaresolutions.com/tools_spyware.html

9) I always make sure my anti-virus/spyware software and Windows operating system are up-to-date.

10) I use common sense! oh, did I mention that already? Yes I did, why? Because it's the most important way to protect yourself! Be suspicious! Be Aware and you should be fine!

Here is a little document I wrote up some time ago:

Tips For Online Safety:

# In the bottom right-hand corner of the Internet Explorer browser there should be a small lock (using Mozilla Firefox I see a small green key) indicating that the site is secured. For example, see this link. If you double-click on this lock (or key) it should produce a certificate verifying that the site is secure (in the example above, the you will see the site is verified by VeriSign Trust Network). Check whether the certificate corresponds to the website you are visiting.

# Never do your online banking on public computers or from internet cafes.

# Follow the same rules of normal banking when you are banking online.

# Stay away from pornographic sites: Spyware, adware, and viruses often reside there.

# Type in the website's address or bookmark it. Do not follow a link, especially one sent via email, link urls can be disguised.

# Report and delete emails that ask for usernames, passwords, PINS, debit and credit card information. Your bank will never send an email asking for this type of information. Use this link to check out our Virus Hoaxes page.

# Check that you are indeed on your bank's website by checking the address (look in the address bar at the top of your browswer window).

# Use anti-virus, anti-spyware software and a firewall at all times.

# Install, update and run a personal firewall on your PC.

# Find out if your bank offers any extra security measures and register for it/them.

# Check your bank statements often for any unusual or suspicious activity.

# Never save your password on your desktop as it may allow others to access your personal information without your permission.

# Avoid making passwords too personal, or too easy to guess. Use combinations of letters and numbers with no specific meaning.

# Change your password often and do not use obvious passwords like your birth date, or cat's name.

http://www.malwaresolutions.com/online_safety_tips.html

I hope this helps!

There's a lot of scams going around right now & it's getting totally out of hand.....one of the latest is to write regarding perhaps an ad that has been placed, say on ebay or such sites as that.....asking that a sum above the required ad item cost be paid into your account...obviously the enquirer asks for your account details & home address etc....when the large amount of money has been deposited & the goods sent the enquirer then withdraws the money deposited into your account......thus causing you to lose the money plus the goods. There are also ways thaty any money deposited into such an account can be withdrawn even after the cheque has been cleared by your bank.....be aware for phishing sites where your passwords & account details can be stolen thus enabling your ID to be stolen & used.....

Do not purchase items that come with a mail-in rebate. Half the time they will pretend that your submission did not arrive or that there is something wrong with it so you will have to re-submit it. They know that most of us do not make photocopies of the UPC and will just give up. Two companies who have done this to me are Symantec and PNY.

I don't give out sensitive information (like my credit card number) to sources I don't trust. In fact, I rarely hand out such info through emails because spammers and phishers have cloned official emails.

1. Dont buy online. Go to a store where you can see your purchase
2. Dont use your credit card(see #1)
3. IF you must use your credit card remember to completely clear your cache after a transaction.
4. Keep your antivirus and spyware systems up to date.

I check the security certificate of the websites and also keep checking my credit card statement online. This allows me to track how much was charged to my card by the merchant.

At a store I never let the card get out of sight.

1) Do not use your real name and do not reveal your address (mailing)
2) Never reply to mails which state that you have won a lottery prize
3) Never reply to mails stating that they have a surprise package for you and you have to pay for delivery
4) Only use your credit card on secure servers. If you feel that despite this your card has been misused, then ask the bank to cancel the card
5) If you get promotional mails, then block them as spam

I use Norton Anti-virus. I also have a current account I use only for shopping online and keep only £2 or £3 in it. When I want to buy something online I transfer enough to cover the cost of what I have bought.

I don't easily give in, i mean i don't eaily give my 100% trust or even just a tiny bit of it to anyone...

so many people have too much trust in this whole online thing, i say be careful about what u do if u are going to do things online( especially like payng bills and giving out your credit card number for some things), and make sure that u share nothing with anyone, because people will trick u into giving them your card number or password to anything, so i say trust no one online because u never know!

I dont reply to any emails claiming to be from my banking service. They might be real or they might not, but i dont even read them anymore before i delete them... Thats about all :P im not overly careful yet, as im only 17 and dont have much of an identity to steal

So I protected my computer with many layers of security. I keep up with the lastest news articles on how to keep your computer safe, to ensure that I get the lastest software. It is also import to listen to the advice of the expects, and turn that advice into action, by using thier information to help keep my computer safe.I have two firewalls, also a software security program for virus and spyware and malware. I know that when i was in the dorms, there were hackers, and it was easy to get viruses. When everyday there are new ways to use the computer in your life. It is very important to keep your computer healthy and running safe.

Check the url. I got a phishing email today that said my account had a security problem. It looked like paypal and I almost reentered my password and visa card number, but the url didn't look right. They would have cleaned me out.

I used to change passwords all the time, at least one time per month, only this way I can predict frauds.

My attitude toward personal information on the `net is don't put anything on it you wouldn't feel comfortable hollaring in front of a crowd. I also never pay for anything I buy on it with credit cards. I only use money orders or checks.

In order to protect me from fraud during internet surfing i never give personal informations to anyone other than whom i trust or otherwise i know the party personally, never i submit infomations like credit card number, annual income, never participate in online lotteries etc

Hi,
Complete online security impossible other than keeping data on a seperate storing device.

first of all visit only those sites which are secure or say secure .and avoid giving your credit card number.
one more thing u can use following sites which will definetly protect you.
1.anonymizer.com(u have to pay for security)
2.anonymizer.au(free)

Get a Mac. (Apple MacIntosh computer)
There are no viruses for a Mac.

Simple.
Don't do anything with cash on line.
Don't do anything that you don't want others to know.
But leave Jack in the box for them.

Firstly, I must say write that whatever stringent security measures you take, you cannot stop a determined hacker from viewing personal data. What you can achieve is a level of security that everyone would feel safe with and that's how banks attempt to protect data. Bank databases are not unhackable but they have multiple firewalls, tracers etc to stop or detect breakthroughs.

People have understood that divulging account numbers, other account data to unknown and unreliable sources can lead to devastating consequences. People are also more aware of key loggers, spyware that can provide sensitive information to unauthorised individuals; therefore, people are buying firewall systems, only divulging information to authorised people and that too on a secure network.

People like us are aware of the security flaws that every system will inevitably have but we try and protect our data to the best of our ability with whatever we can find.

try to get protection for your computer so thefts whont see what you are doing. and also your password can be secret from your freinds and your family. the protection can keep off pop ups, spam and virus.

I use the Mc Afee Security Centre- an excellent firewall that effectively prevents hacking of my computer. Next- never give out your credit card on a MSN or Yahoo messenger or via email. Third- buy only from very reputed, trusted companies. Fourth- I always call my bank almost immediately after making the payment to find out how much money was deducted from my account.

First and formost I do not answer or respond to any type of email or solicitation that asks me for personal information that I did not initiate contact with. Second, I change passwords frequently, especially for personal information on line accounts. I also have soft ware installed on my computer that protects against personal information theft. These are a couple steps I take. I also take steps to protect myseft from ID theft in my personal life, like shredding documents, not giving out information over the phone, having a good idea of what is on my credit reports, and just being informed of what ID theft is and what I can do to protect myself. Most banks and credit card companies have plans available for protection in the likely event of ID theft.

One must have an genuine Operating System and update it frequently, say atleast once a week. Daily if update is more better, but I think people are lazy to do that. Also the spped of the internet and the computer's processing speed also does matter.

Then one must have a antivirus system, firewall windows based is already enough, then a adware spyware remover tool which like Microsoft offers Windows Defender, so these things are more enough for the security of the online world.

One must frequently update antivirus, firewall settings should be monitored, then the windows defender program too frequently updated and scanned once a week or for better results on a daily basis.

And when it comes to online shopping, we must be extra careful before making a purchase, we must email and check with them, how safe is our purchase orders gonna be transacted. Checking, double checking what safety standards and features, and certification technologies they have got before making a purchase or an online transaction is better. We must also not share important banking informations via instant messaging.

So then disabling the remember password should be done, so when we use especially on a public computer then none will be able to know our secret data.

I think these are the things which will help people to protect their valuable data. If they do this, I can guarantee and I think so, based on my own personal experiences until now, that they can experience 100% safe and secure cyberspace surfing.

Well what we have on the computer is fraud monitoring and its provided by Norton anti-virus which came with the computer we also have Firewall protection which blocks out anything or anyone that might try to attack this computer.

You could have multiple identities so that if one gets stolen you have a few backups

My credit is so bad that if someone stole it, they'd be doing me a favor!!

no one is safe

I've done hundreds of on-line orders from various companies, never really had any problems at all, it's all just the fear of putting your details over the Internet. but the only thing you got to look for when paying is that the page is encrypted (this means that it is coded when sent over the net so if so if someone dose get the details it will just come out as jargon) and if you are worried about a key logger on a computer just do what i do, put a few wrong numbers somewhere, highlight them with the mouse + shift key and just type the correct ones!

Using genuine Internet Safety software and Anti-virus is the best way, as online transactions have become part of of daily life, n we cant avoid them.

If I receive an email from a company I do business with I always right click on any links in the email and look at "properties" to see the website the email leads to. Many times they are actually SPAM emails leading to websites that look exactly like my bank, paypal etc in which case I contact the actual company immediately. I also only give my account numbers to businesses I already know and if I don't know the business then I only do business if they accept paypal. (paypal has a lot of spam right now so be careful, by the way!).

I bank online and change my Password once a month..

I have an Internet account that I use for anything I buy on line.I only keep a balance of $5.00 in that account and when I find something on line that I want to buy I deposit just the amount I need to make the purchase.I never store anything in my computer that anyone can use to steal my identity.I use system mechanic 6 pro.It has some great utilities for incinerating files instead of deleting them.I have a good virus software program as well as a firewall.It's really not hard to protect yourself on line as long as you use a little common sense.

To safe your files from the net theft you have to follow some procedure of net suffering & use the appropirait sicurity programs & not belive your computer for that u have to make sour that while on chatin or on using the net your work is porsonalised no one can know about your files rether than you. & make saur that u'r important files should be in the long route to search easily by other people.

I have always used Norton and ZoneAlarm.
Norton has caught some viruses for me in the past and ZoneAlarm has blocked some vicious intruders.
I am still sticking with these two softwares.

i just let the amount of websites i buy online on i only buy from those that i have bought from in the past and i don't do it too often. there isn't really much i do i'm just careful that's all

http://www.cybertopcops.com

always know who. and what you are dealing with online. in my opion?

To protect myself i always use other ppl's credit cards and SS# and what not.

I have Norton Internet Security 2007 and for my email it offers a security photo so no one can get into it.

Use Norton Internet Security or Mcafee Internet Security.U can use zonealarm for firewall.It will slow down ur computer but very effective.

dont give out any of your personal info over the net, such as credit card numbers, telephone number, or your bank account number, unless you know you can trust the site. sites like ebay, amazon or others like that is ok

Dont share your info and put a fraud alert on your name and ss# so if someone tries to steal your identity they will have to answer questions that only you will know. I had to do this because it happened to me.

If at all possible, use PayPal for all transactions online. Don't trust any e-mail that asks for your passwords or personal information. It might be more convenient to shop online, but if there's a physical store near you, by all means go to it. (You can inspect the merchandise before you buy that way, too.)

I don't shop online and I do not bank online, I never had and I am not about to start now.

MY thoughts:

check to see if the website u are visiting and providing your credit card is a well trusted site. Make sure it isn a scam. Wys you can do that are: check out heir navigation system, see their contact us page, Does the page look very professional?

Stuff like that.
Also make sure you have a good firewall. In my experience, teh earthlink firewall is the best. Chek it out in earthlink.net under the download section.
If you have a good firewall teh nrandom ips wont be able to access your computer. This will keep your files on your computer more safe from unwanted guests.

The ideas of experts:

"Identity theft continues to be one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States, and has ranked as one of the top consumer concerns for the past several years. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has produced a multimedia presentation to help consumers protect themselves from identity theft. The presentation provides information on steps consumers should take to secure their computer and protect themselves from identity theft, as well as actions consumers should take if they become a victim of identity theft. Financial institutions are encouraged to make the link available to their customers from their websites. This presentation is hosted by Vodium." I got this info from http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/guard/index.html

The Video is in http://www.vodium.com/goto/fdic/identitytheft.asp

Many users are using Apples. There are no viruses or spy software that can infect theie OS.

Even though, i usually support the " underdog ' , and back the " little guy " , I tend to only buy from larger, well-known companies....... as far as online shopping is concerned. You know.....stores and businesses that have been around a long time ( SEARS - AMAZON - TOUS-R-US - ) These guys are more-likely to be in business tomorrow.

i don't give any information...and shop on safe websites

Some simple steps to avoid this growing problem:
1. Do not log onto the Internet. Ever.
2. Close out all of your credit and debit cards, and destroy them beyond all recognition.
3. Shred everything with your name and address on it. That includes your personal checks.
4. Pay cash for everything.
5. Wake up and realize how impractical this list is, and that everyone is at risk for this.
Mainly, just don't be stupid with your information. If you don't know about a business, ask around, or look them up with the Better Business Bureau. And keep the online stuff to a minimum. Do business over the phone if you can. If something ever seems too good to be true, it probably is. Follow the advice we all get when we're little--don't talk to strangers--and hope for the best.

i do not use the net o pay bills, etc. i'm 35, i realisie online bill paying iwill become the way to pay. however, i preffer to pay via snail mail or via phone, recording the name of the person to whom i speak with. always keeping record of names and numbers.

Like a few others have said, I only use trusted sites. For example, when using my credit card or bank account, I only like to use it from websites such as ebay, paypal, cingular, etc. If it's a site that you never really heard of, or you don't feel right about giving out your personal info, DON'T do it! Also, when your about to enter your information, always make sure that there's a lock at the bottom right hand corner of your page and check up top in the address bar to make sure that your URL says "HTTPS://" not just HTTP, if it has the "S" it means your on a secure server.

Might I suggest either Norton Internet Security Suite or McAfee Internet Security Suite.

If you want to protect yourself from these online threats, you have to have the right software. I recommend buying Norton Internet Security 2007 for the best protection. Also, some websites might track what you are doing by cookies. Go to tools, internet option, privacy, and block cookies from comming up. Also, you have to be on the lookout for spyware/adware. For that, I suggest you purchase Spysweeper for that case. Hope this helps!

Don't give out personal information, and change passwords from time to time.

I don't know what the deal is , but I am becoming less confident in the ability of software to protect us in doing online buying (ebay) or banking (bank or paypal). Even with Norton, I got caught with trojan peacom...and still have some problems with my office 2000 (have to open a new word twice instead of once)...sometimes the computer sort of locks up frequently (even tho I frequently delete temp and cookies and temp internet files and defrag)...not sure if a bug in Norton or a software conflict between Norton, Microsoft, and yahoo... I am beginning to think MS and Norton are continually at odds and that is the problem (just a wild guess)....I had my computer erased and reloaded with Norton 2007 upgrade from 2005 and still office word problems and computer lockup problems...not sure if virus or something else...leary of doing online banking...seems as tho less problems with MS 1998 or 2000 than XP..with the old Norton of 2005...

Simply don't put credit card numbers or social security numbers online... it's not foolproof, but it's a start. If you really need to buy something online, CVS pharmacy sells temporary credit cards. You put a certain amount on this temporary credit card (it's renewable), and that's it. Then you can sit back and laugh at the hackers who are going to get DIDDLYSQUAT if they intercept the number(s). (If you're going to make a $50.00 purchase, buy a $50.15 card and humiliate the hell out of the hacker when he steals an entire $0.15.

put up blocker on your computer

make sure it is a valid site by checking with the BBB, if your not sure use a gift card or purchase a temp cash card for only the amount you want to spend. Never give social security number out. finally delete temporary cookies often.

i read every before i purchase over the internet and i think paypal.com is a good online payment every purchase made on the internet should go through paypal

have Firewall with Phishing Filter-chks to make sure a site is legit ; also E-mail Virus and use Safe List-E-mail gives me name and subject so if not known to me and nopt idea what it could be do not open but delete,also Password to open my E-mail is unique fior that service only and use whats termed a Strong Password letters with numbers combination and easy for me to remember but hard to crack,Password for other sites etc is always the same but not the same as my E-mail Password and again strong Password.To date have not given Credit Card Info But when I do will be AE for they will dispute unauthorized charge for me . Do not give Soc Sec,Drivers License Nos on line and neither any info that can be used to steal my Identitiy or harm me in any manner.Mainly I use Common sense. Also Before I close computer for the day do Adaware,erase history and weekly do maintenance-clean registry,scan and get rid of obsolete files etc nothing stays long enough to be used.

One thing that I will never do because its a quick way for some nit wit to steal my identity and that is to order something on line with a credit card,well,as luck has it I do not own a credit card THANK GOD,nor do I ever get thr urge to order anything. rubberstamper

First don’t set yourself up to be a victim. You will be amazed at how many people leave checkbooks, credit cards, and social security cards laying around the home or office . Actually the largest percentage of identity theft is from those we know. Don’t store you passwords in your computer. Yes it is convenient however, hackers can get into your computer and copy all your passwords. It is good to delete the cookies as well every once and a while. Be old fashion, write them down. Make sure you check your credit annually. You can obtain a free copy from www.annualcreditreport.com. Also, make sure you check all 3 bureaus. (While we are on credit reports, opting out isn’t a bad idea.) Many financial planners recommend freezing your credit. This basically prevents anyone, and we do mean anyone including you from looking at your credit. However, Alabama doesn’t have that law yet. If you would like to help in getting this in our state visit www.financialprivacynow.com. Lastly, cell phones. Be careful on this one. If you sell your phone, palm or computer when you delete data it doesn’t go completely away, it just doesn’t direct itself to it anymore. Therefore, someone can crack into the system and get your info.

Well, Marian M., since I don't know you I'm not inclined to say.
My siblings do say I'm hard to please so let me clue you I've got higher than normal expectations about things important to me. Take this little gadget right here. I hand painted the middle button red. Don't make me push it.

It may be very hard, but try to avoid using your personal info online.That is ideal but unfortunately not realistic, yet there are many that havent gotten into the habit of online purchasing etc. so many are safe. Its very important to be sure that if you do provide your info the company is a reputable one. Ex: Banks, Amazon, Paypal, Airline tickets etc. Never provide your info to someone that you are not familiar with. Also keep in mind that if you get emails claiming to be from your bank etc...and ask you to fill out personal info, contact them first before typing anything that you may regret in the future.

It actually helps for the online sites such as Paypal to go secure when ordering from credit card. Most sites that sale have this security protection, but they can only protect what is in theitr site, what ever goes into your computer can be tasted by any other computer that wants in and piggy backs.

Bill Gates has come up with new software that makes it harder to ride the letter in sort of speak, but still the responsibility also lays in the hands of the user to insure they have closed all windows out after making a transaction.

I do a number of things to protect myself from fraud. Being its victim once was enough! Not that it really matters though, we caught the person that ran a scam on me, took it to the local D.A.'s office with all the proof....I was told by the D.A.'s office that "it wasn't worth their time to prosecute that person for what little punishment allowed under the current laws of this State"
I was outraged, but nothing I could do and its taken 10 years to get that mess cleaned up! Recently, the same person did the same scam to another person, but again, the D.A.'s office refuses to bring charges!

You could also try to use a program like "PeerGuardian" which blocks hackers from accessing your ip address

You take all the proper precautions listed by all members of yahoo answers. Monitor your stuff and hope for the best. Keep in mind that criminals are already inside the system where all information is available to them. Crime is a very lucrative business so allowing an opportunity for fraud brings a lot of business.
I wish reality was different but this is the way it is and it is horrible. So, take proper measures that are available. It takes money to protect your finances.

Most secure sites these days indicate the security of the website and the protection of people's information. You might not want to put your info on a site that doesn't indicate any "secure: guarantees

Whenever you do suspect something fishy, call your credit card company and have your account number changed and a new card sent to you. Its free, i believe!

Report all spam.
Don't open emails from unknown senders.
Give out minimal personal information.
Use an alternate email address for business and personal accounts.

I don't allow peeps to im me and i don't give out ANY information on me myself or I........

it's simple NORTON ANT-VIRUS 2007 and webroot SPYSWEEPER,you do a full scan weekly with NORTON anti-virus,and you do a daily sweep with webroot SPYSWEEPER,you can't go wrong with these two things both of these internet security groups are on top of things as far as internet security!

Best thing you can do? Never ever give Blockbuster your credit card.

what you do yo protect your self from identity theft is when you sign in there is a picture of a baby and you click on that and sign up!!!

I use the new Norton 360 on my computer.I had an instenceof my identity being compromised and am now very security conscience and this seem's to be the best protection I've found thus far.I have not had a problem since installing this software

I would not trust anybody asking this question if they have been on answers as long as you have

never give personal info on line like phone numbers name etc if cant get around it buy software to keep u safe on line like i have on my PC

You cannot protect yourself from id theft. You can only wait because most likely, it will happen to you. See, if you ever had a banking account, a job, a credit card, medical insurance, the list goes on, chances are high that if the company has not had a security breech, it will soon enough. I take precautions to rpotect myself, but I also have one of the best plans in North America, that is the only company that will completely restore my id for me. If or when it happens, I will be alerted immediately and stop it right in its tracks. That is what I am doing anyway!

i dont do online banking, shopping, etc. and i never put any of my real info online anywhere, thats the easiest way for me,

I use Norton 2007, and have 2 antispyware programs installed, one is kind that downloads signatures and other kind that watches for programs showing malware traits.I think it important to watch both ways.

me, i download Mcafee siteadvisor http://www.siteadvisor.com they test every site on the web to see how good it is, scams, viruses, frauds. it has saved me many times

...simple... I don't give out or make available my "private" info. and the "bad-guys" move on........

hidden your profile.

my ex-best friend is hacking me so all i do is keep changeing my password

keep yo a s s off the internet then you stupid b itch.

NEVER give your birthdate, social security number, or credit card info on the internet. Many "free surveys" offering coupons and prizes ask for these items. It's a trap! So beware, keep your personal information private.

If I shop online, I make sure its with a site that I trust and verifies that my information is safe. I always have a firewall and I dont open emails from people that I dont know. My birthday & social security card are never on my resume.

get a gun

Nothing, since nobody in their right mind would want to be me.

As for myself, I just go for more trusted websites. The thing is that, passwords, cc numbers and a/c information are all too personal to share with anyone. Thus, for:
Bank account for internet banking - Just put the necessary amount, no need to be huge amount. Check them if possible everyday to see the transaction being done.
Credit card - for credit card that i use to purchase things online are those credit card with low limits. Then, yeah, well, always monitor.

Keeps your passwords secret.
Shred all your documents.
But MOST OF ALL: There is a service you can subscribe to that will send you an e-mail alert if there are any changes to your credit. You can then see what the changes are, and if you didn't authorize them (such as a new credit card) then you can stop it before it gets out of hand.

I have 1 card used for purchases. The credit line is limited. I also check my credit score and cards transactions monthly.

I put a fraud alert on my credit with all three agencies, so if someone trys to open an account in my name they will have to go through extra security.

Scan your computer with spyware

beware of who and where you are buying from and becareful what type of extra information that you give them and also make sure that the place you are ordering from is a secure sight. There is one thing that Visa is doing that is a good thing before you can go thru with your billing transaction here in the U.S.A. they require an extra 3-4 digit security code for protection.

I only go to sites I trust. I don't give out credit card information--or in my case; DEBIT CARD information--or any other kind of financial information or anything else.

I shall educate the many whom shall read this. Your identity is not protected nor is any information of you-Now read yahoo,Microsoft.AOL other company you have ever used your personal date for bills credit has all of your personal data OH dont forget the hospitals!
Now imagine one idenity thief employer in every company you have shared this information with has all they need for credit cards homes cars movie rentals and the like to use your credit and for you to never know - you must understand they are taught what to suspect and how to detect so they are the best at successfully using your data for their personal gain!

NOW I shall go funny - Alright so read on! hay if you got terrible credit hay you pray someone "try" to use it get's busted and its televised so you can crack up!

Now the Realism of it all!
if the bills dont come to you and you just dont have anything to fear,fine but just avoid and never give out your socialsecurity # now credit card number this is what i try to do but you do know it is so convient I as many of you forget hay we are consumers and impatient also compulsive not thinking of what could be the outcome!

I like to check with the credit card companies about sites that I have never heard of. A verify that their "Verify" seal is up to date and legal. I also use paypal, with them my transactions are secure between me the bank and the buyer. If a problem does happen than paypal will handle it for me.

Firewall and stay within sites you are familair with.

what would I do to protect myself from fraud or identity theft?
I have my ways.....
but your products are so damn expensive. I mean c'mon, you update every year and I have to keep paying for the same crap I am installing on my computer?????

Theoretically, credit card fraudulence online or even over the phone is no longer that prevalent. Are we fooling the authorities? Tracing credit card transactions can be done in minutes because these are all electronically generated/initiated. Go FBI! Haha. I call that sophisticated technology. However, to protect one's self from "Mr. Genius," the guy who can hide for a month, always look for certification seals on the site you are doing the Credit Card transaction. Example of this is VeriSign. To make sure, click it, and it must go to the VERISIGN link with certification notice about the site. Beware of fake seals. Two, when doing over the phone credit card transactions, see to it that you will divulge only your 16 digit card number, and the expiration date. NO MORE, NO LESS. the 3-digit CVC is not needed by most merchants. VIGILANCE VIGILANCE VIGILANCE!

never give out any personal information about yourself. no addresses, no phone numbers not where you work, not your parents of relatives names or any information at all that could lead to someone finding you.

Change your Sceen Name(s) frequently.

Change your password even more frequently. and dont make your password obvoius like "qwerty"

Never give out your credit card, social security # or diver liscence on line. Not even to a "secured connection" There is no such thing as a secure connection. Any hacker with a high school education can break into most of the "secure connections."

When you get your bank card statements exmaine them immediately for fraud.

When you see a message from your bank or any merchant that you have purchaesd from and that message says they have had a comptuer glitch and need your account information, you are looking at a hijacked web page. Call the company whose page has been stolen and report the incident online to the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov

Never provide a resume on line. 1) An employer who will only take on line resumes will recieve 100,000 of them and will not pay attentoin to yours. 2) All the data you have on your on-lie resume can be hacked including your name and address.

Never respond to any online offers where 1) There is no phone number in the offer. You need to call them to see if they are real. 2) You have to "register" in order to look at their site.

All email from Nigeria is a fraud.

All notices that you have won a lottery somewhere is fraud.
No legitimate lottery ever notifies winners by email, especially addressing it to "Dear Winner" because they dont know your name.

Remeber that turning on your compter and connectint to the internt is just like leaving our front door open and putting a sign on the front lawn saying "please steal from me."

For one thing "informed" people are not using "Norton"
based systems to keep their systems clean.

AVG is "Much" superior,and "FREE"

Nod32 is the "World Record Holder" in anti-virus
and is inexpensive.

Keeping virus and spyware out of your system is the first step to protect yourself from fraud online.

http://techguylabs.com/radio/

i just don't give out that information , like you said it is way to dangerous with all the hackers out there etc...

Only provide information to secure sites that are absolutely proved to be safe.

I do not give out any private information on line or address or city I do not give my credit card or passwords. I never open anything unless I know the person.

Never under any circumstances answer an email with personal information. Regardless if it "looks" like it came from your bank or any other financial institution. If you are going to provide info, make sure the you initiate the process.

If you do happen to purchase stuff online, make sure that your browser has accepted a two-way certificate authentication. You can see this by the yellow padlock in the bottom right corner. However, phishers are increasingly mimicking this now.

If you go via PayPal for a financial clearing house, use a credit card and NOT a bank account number. If anyone does steal your number, you are not held liable over $50, if you provide a bank account number, they could bleed it to $0 before you know it.

One other note, when I buy stuff online, I login to my PC with a NON-administrator account so key-loggers or other malicious software cannot be installed. Never check bank accounts at public kiosks.

Make sure you have a good firewall on your computer. Make sure your browser is secure. Try to clean out your history on you computer as much as possible. Never use a public computer for purchasing something online.

I DONT BUY THINGS ONLINE ANYMORE.
The risk is higher than it is a convienance to shop from home.

Only shop on trusted sites!

And what security system do you use when a waiter or waitress takes your credit card at a restaurant and disappears in the back room for ten or longer minutes doing who knows what with your credit card .....hmmmm/????or in the supermarket where when you swipe your card on the keypad thing how long your info stays on their system....hmmmm????or when you purchase at TJ Maxx or Marshalls and they lose your credit card info to hackers....hmmmm??? uhhuh the internet is not the only place to lose your credit card info to thieves.

First of all try to avoid buying anything online. Second if you happen to buy anything online try to use PayPal. My advice would be not to buy anything that you don't trust.

Marian Merritt,praise be to you for helping to better our lives,Thank You.As for your question,there are brilliant people out there in not only in the inter-net world , but in all of humanity using their talents and wisdom to achive an ease-gotten reward from those of us who are not so witty.Am not putting myself or anyone else's inteligence down,but those smarties have ways of using what we donot have too much of to their use.Twice our family has had our personal confidential data used to withdraw funds from our accounts.At first we tried to find a someone to blame,but we didnot gain from that,so we worked together with our financial institution to build a barrier to prevent it from happening again.Changed account numbers,redid all of the online deposits and withdrawls over again,but with more care as to who could be trusted or not with such a valuable phase of our private security.We have made a sad realisation that we need to perhaps go to the store and purchase the item first hand rather than to so easily do it over the phone or internet.Sometimes technology has not only made it easy for us to survive,but to make it also easy for those smarties to survive from our weakness.DoNot have an answer,Sorry---Except maybe " Buyer-Beware!!!".

I change my passwords often. I use a phrase for my password and after I've chosen the phrase I reverse it. Such as "my dog rover" becomes "revorgodym". We only store a credit card in Amazon and PayPal and we have one certain card that we use and we keep only a $500 limit on it. That way if anyone ever does get access to it they can't charge over $500. Usually it would be less than $500 because we already have used part of the balance anyway. I have one email account that is used only for PayPal. One that is used only for eBay and any other site that I purchase from. I have another one for anything I might sign up for online that doesn't involve purchasing and one that is just for my personal correspondence. It helps me recognize a phishing email disguised as something from eBay or PayPal when it comes into an account that isn't used for that purpose. I know right away it's a phony. I trash anything that I think is a phishing attempt and dump the trash right away. If I'm at a website that I'm not familiar with and I at all feel uneasy about sharing information then I don't. There's really nothing on the internet that I need so badly that it's worth risking identity theft.

dont put any of my info on the site.

Do not go on un-secure sites. Stop giving credit card numbers for online games, also. Take precautions!

I shop only websites I trust. Penny's is one Old Navy is another. I also will order if they take payment through PayPal.

I do play online and sometimes I will say something like, "it's raining here today" just a casual comment and a lot of the other players become quiet. They don't say, "here too" they just do not reply. And then I realize that was a personal thing and I'm so happy that they didn't say a word.

ditch PC's and use a MAC

I always wear a false beard and dark glasses when I am on-line to prevent my identity being stolen.

I do my business through paypal,run Firestarter(a firewall) Clam-antivirus,running on a Linux box behind a router which contains a hardware level firewall,and I have common sense,what else do you need?

Use plenty of virus protection such as mcafee and never give any info to anyone about your business or your log in id. Run scans frequently and never click any hyper links sent in the mail from anyone. Ask the person who sent you the email if they sent you something w/ a link because hackers get your log in info that way and get tons of access to "your" world. Make sure to keep the safety programs running and up to date and check w/ microsoft for updates as well.

do not ever give out any personal info. just to save ur own life

Never ever,ever use a credit card online. and dont send any ss#'s or birthdates. PERIOD!

"Hire" a security guard like Zone Alarm or Norton's Security Suite and don't leave home without them. Pay attention to any pop-up which says "you are leaving a secure site" and take the short course offered by eBay and their PayPal system. Do not have Windows "save" your passwords which can be obtained by hackers, and shred any credit card reciepts because my paranoid firewall just told me someone is going through my garbage right now...brb.

i had economics my senior year and my teacher said one of the best ways to have your identity swiped is by purchasing things online!!! I love shopping but in stores only... websites immitate as something there not...like during Christmas there were alot of people that got robbed through a fake Tiffany&Co. website...be careful its rough on the internet!

Seriously, and I mean this honestly, and without anger- I dump programs like Norton Personal Firewall and Norton Antivirus in favor of other companies' programs. I think Norton keeps viruses off your PC by taking up so much space on your hard drive that there's no room for any viruses.

being a smart individual.
I refuse to give myself away to anyone.

If your write up about your personal profile is true then why don't you have an e-mail or IM set up so that people can contact you personally. You could have set one up just for this. I won't tell ANYBODY over the net what I use for security. I don't know you from Adam. If you are for real then you should have a way to be contacted instead of having our answers be seen world wide so that people can hack into what we have by knowing what we have. Sorry. I like my pc. It's a friend to me. I won't give out my securities. And being as you claim you watch out for people I don't think it's right that you should have them tell it www. I'm not trying to be nasty at all. Just careful.

It is simple ...I do not conduct business on line . I refuse to pay other sources such as pay pal (( e-bay)) a fee to conduct transactions , If I have to pay a bill , I write a check , go to the post office , and mail it .. I do not ,and will never pay anyone to pay my bills it is stupid to pay even a dollar to pay a bill on line . I pay everything at the office such as utilities , my mortgage is the only bill I mail in , and after arguing with the mortgage company about postage I no longer pay for postage , I told them if they want their money to send a postage paid envelope with the statement , they did .. I have the money for my bills ,if they want it they have to pay to receive it . I do not pay fees to banks either, I do not pay to use my money or send it ....the only way to be safe is don't put it out there ...

Fraud? Just use common sense. If it sounds too good to be true, it nearly always is.
Identity theft, heh, that's a joke. I don't give out any vital data online, certainly not financial details and if anyone tries to pretend to be me, they will come to regret it. Every day traffic is more dangerous than identity theft, don't believe the hype.

whats your social security number and i can help you

use a shredder never give out social security number unless you really know the source, never give your home address unless you really know the party asking

Yes I know about Identity fraud,
this occurs when people put their passwords on the back of the card, don't because someone else can get into your account without your knowledge.
Always keep your passwords secret
don't give them to anyone even your family
If you lose your card report it immediately
so they can deactivate your card. Identity fraud or theft is when someone else who is unauthorized uses your personal information.

I often worry and wonder if I am doing enough to keep my personal self protected. And is there really any protection against the truly evil hackers out there? I never give out personal information, I do not open emails from people I do not know. But is that really enough?

Are we really safe no matter what we do? I do appreciate people like you who are out there trying to protect and make us safer.

Keep up the good work and please keep working harder at keeping up safe from hackers and other harmful invaders.

I have heard about a website called lifelock.com. It costs as little as $10/month. Check them out.

Never
Ever
Ever
Give out your personal information to a website you are not 300% confident about. If you just want information, and they insist on you giving them your personal info before they will let you access things like quotes or want other personal data - be pro-active and make up a false identity. Give out this information instead of your real identity until you are completely certain that you really want to do business with the company. Yahoo, google and other companies offer free e-mail accounts. Set one up so that you can use it to keep the "spam" from these inquiries out of your main e-mailbox as well.

Do not store your credit card numbers, account numbers, passwords or personal I.D. numbers on any computer that may be connected to the internet. Just don't do it. Keep a secure "hard copy" file at home, and shred anything before you put it into your trash barrel. Shredding it, then pouring bacon grease leavings on it is even better.

Change your passwords at irregular intervals and do not allow any one else to use your account(s).

If you get an e-mail from a company you do business with, threatening to turn off your account or charge you in some way if you do not "click on this link and verify some information", delete the e-mail immediately and telephone the company to discuss this. 99.999% of the time it is a phishing scam.

Carefully read any e-mail you recieve from banks, credit card companies, e-bay, paypal or other companies you may have financial dealings with. Look very carefully for grammar and spelling errors, or improper usage. Many of these scam "artists" can easily reproduce the "look" of a legitimate e-mail, but fall down on things like spelling and grammar. Again, if there is any request for your personal information, pick up the telephone and CALL the company. Do not EVER click through on a link from an e-mail.

OK. I know you are waiting to read the latest innovation people can find, to be sure they didn't discover whatever you intend to do, when asking this question.
I am sure some people know how to do and they will not tell you, so there are things you will never know.

when I shop online, I only use the rechargable credit cards.

No one in my family uses online banking. The only time we did was for the evacuation of Hurricane Katrina. When shopping online I use either PayPal or Money Orders only.

Quite simply, I don't give any data that needs to be protected. I don't shop or bank online, nor do I subscribe to any websites that ask for much more than my username, zip code, and/or Email address. If they need any more info, I either give out something fake or don't subscribe at all.To anyone on the Internet, I am Karen from Indiana. If they want any more information, too bad :P.

1. Secure web sites-more and more of them are now using multiple things to make sure it's you (not just relying on SSL encryption, but things such as passmarks and questions only the person would know)

2. None of my passwords are on the computer, I have them in a book.

3. Anything I get in the mail (including the multiple credit card offers I seem to get from the credit cards I already have) gets shredded.

4. Any telemarketers that call don't like me afterward. I eat telemarketers for breakfast (I give them a hard time; I'm on the "Do Not Call" list so I shouldn't be called by anyone). Some so called "telemarketers" like the Police Protection Fund who are phishing for info get reported when I can get information on them.

Why do you want to know?

Hello Marian In my opinion this is a very important&crucial question based on my past experience with both ( online credit card purchasing& money transfer ) i think it ll be much safer for both, the buyer& the seller sides to use money transfer companies, fostring dramatcly the e-commerce , we need a lot of companies doing this job on the internet.
Thanks

I monitor my credit report daily using an internet service. If anything suspicious like new address or new accound has been open on my name I get email notification. So this way I have a control and if something happens like identity theft i can act quickly. I use http://www.privacymatters.com

they are constantly changing their passwords, etc. or they just throw their computer out the widow and get in the car and drive to the nearest wallmart because they have everything!!

More we protect ourselves more vulnerable we are...Governments knows formula...Stop believe that nowadays creations created for our convenience... All things which offered for convenience bring nothing but ever growing complications, don't you see that? Most horror is that innovations created supposedly to easy our lifes dictates you how life should be. There is countless of simple ways to live personal life without complexes embedded by attempts to make our lifes "easy going". There is no external power can make it so...One can do it individually ...

You know the best answer to this is not to give your personal info such as social security , home adress, over the internet.
I know that millions of people give there credit cards over the net . But the chance of someone getting your personal info is high as far as I am concerned. I never will put my ss over the net or credit card.

Never enter in your SSN# , Driver's Lic#, Credit Card # (unless you're making an online purchase), your personal address, or even disclose your real name, or post pics where you actually live.

its really a hard task of research going on for the security process,but still there are some anti-virus,spy,worm etc softwares,but they r ok only to certain extend.

but,still u need to have a good firewall,if u doubt any web then stop access from it and have a guide from an e-security engineer,who can help ur data's from intrution etc.

inspite of all,do trust only web that y think is really trustable and don't ever reply to an fake e-mail,i mean the e--nail from an un-known.

after all ,if it happens then its ur fate..bcz last week 13 servers that runs big WWW companies was down,as it was struck by a virus...

so,its upto the god of virus...he he he.

Several things starting with NOT saving passwords on my system. Make sure that you are on the site you believe you're on by going to the site by typing the URL in and then adding it to favorites or as a link in your browser. When entering account numbers, usernames, passwords, etc look at the beginning of the URL in the address bar and make sure it starts with "https", there is encryption in place. Remember, your banks, credit card issuers and the like will never ask your password through an email or phone call.
I also use Norton Internet security to help detect phishing sites and use Window Washer after most browser sessions to erase my typing history as well as all unneeded cookies. If you get an email from a company you have an account with asking for personal info, go to your known favorite or link for the company instead, NOT a link in an email. You may find a link in your known site's page for reporting phishing attempts. Many times it is "[email protected]"
Above all, use simple common sense when shopping on the net and doing financial transactions. This message will self-destuct in 5 seconds.

Well first of all... if you don't have a spy-ware blocker or a Firewall installed on your PC ... Don't have personnel info on it. Before using a credit card online to pay bills, make purchases, or even to loan a friend some cash.... always look for the padlock,; meaning that the site is encrypted and protected.

I would firstly protect my network with a good firewall, software based firewall or a hardware based firewall. Then have a good anti virus software and regularly clean my system of an bugs and threats. I use Zone Alarm Pro and its has the best firewall ever.

don't tell your real name or address.don't tell your credit card number either.

I would give you the same advice which death_taru1 used.

I never buy anything on the net. To list your credit card number on the net is to give it to anyone who wants it. I never use my SS number on the net. Not even on offical SS sites. I'll call first. If you use ebay, your acct info stays there and it's almost impossible to delete, even a phone call to ebay will not get it removed. So, keep your info private.

I use my CitiBank virtual credit card number feature. It works by having a "Virtual" number assiigned to my real credit card number. I can also place a time limt and dollar amount on it as well. I'm sure there are other credit card number companies with this feature too.

I would try to stay away from those free cell phone ring tones and free games.To protect yourself meaning the best is Norton it blocks every single virus,trust me i have it and have never gotten a virus.=P

Norton 360 works for all sec.no intrusions yet

keep anti virus , anti spam, anti spy update and run them periodicaly, preferably once in a week.

check your credit report with 3 bureau (equifax) etc

Firstly i am using firewall and keeping it up to date i think the zone alarm is best at doing it.
Secondly i have downloaded a thing called Mcafee Siteadvisor from the mcafee website which actually tells me if the website i am visiting is trustable or not.
Thirdly i rely on the privacy report given by privacy protect feature in internet explorer 7.

I never do on line banking. Why? Because my son works in Silicon valley, is a software/hardware engineer designer , he doesn't, none of his co-workers do. It is NOT foolproof.

I use one credit card for purchases at one web sites (Amazon, etc.). That's it.

Easy, lock it up! I read about this great service that gives you up to $1,000,000 to fix your credit/identity if you fall victim to a criminal, while a member of their service. The service is inexpensive, only about $100 a year for adults and $30 a year for kids.

don't give information to anything because in body can search off of what you say. dont tell them anything.also you shouldn't buy credit card unless they are from a trusted company

There are many, many products available to help you keep your transactions confidential and your web travels secure -- available from "free" to costing several hundred dollars per user. Start with this web site for clear descriptions of the many threats out there and links to several products and books that will help you. The web site is www.confidential-transactions.com. Hope this helps.

Heres a tip:
When you get emails from companies you trust asking to verify information, never click on the links in the email, instead type up the company on your browser and use the links there to get to where you need to go.
These emails usually look like legitimate emails from ebay, paypal, amazon etc. but they are not!!

well my advice would be keep everything to yourself no paper tail.

I refuse to shop online. I refuse to use my real name on line, to use a fake but real sounding name, too. (Uncle is a title not a name). I refuse to tell anyone my real name, online (doing surveys is safe!). My online id, my answers id, my email addresses, all are something I created to be anonymous. My brother changes his password, every week or month. Most of all, never tell anyone the password! nor even the clues for it.

I am having second, low risk accounts to dial through internet. I also avoid the internet transactions.

I never buy anything online, sign up for anything online that requires an address/date of birth/etc (or I enter fake data on sites such as email accounts).

I also handle all my business in cash. No one can steal your checking account numbers or credit card numbers if you don't have any!

I make sure that any credit card that I use online has a very small limit. If they take it, the damage is minimal.
I don't keep much money in my bank account.
<b/c I'm always broke>
Also, I have as many up to date programs on my pc as it can handle. I get warnings constantly. (Just got another one.)
I think anyone who tried to steal my identity would give it back along with a donation.

don't give anything to anybody that you didn't contact yourself.

the only thing other than not getting online is using common sense. run updated anti virus and firewall software. do not respond to phishing scams as no reputable company will solicit nonpublic information from you in an email. know who you are doing business with online. read merchant reviews if purchasing from a company or individual.

i had n unacctivated credit card and i got statement thru showing transactions had been made they spent nearly 300 notes in one day on virgin trains moby phone shops etc and the only way it could of been done was over the internet

You know that is an extremely good question.Because ,I have had this done unto me in my past not to mention spy ware added on to my computer etc.

I have Ad-Watch and Virus Scan on mine. They are constantly working and I will also do scans twice a week. I added them on here over a year ago and (knock on wood) have had no problems with Virus's. As for protecting my Identity, with the exception of Ebay, and protection through PayPal, I do not give my personal Info out on the Computer.

I wouldn't prefer buying something online, but if you want to, you must be well protected.

Firstly, you must have an ANTIVIRUS PRODUCT that protects not only your computer, but also your personal IDs when you surf in th einternet and of course prevents your personal accounts be known by third persons.
Secondly, "explore" carefully the company you deal with. Some companies have a protection, sopme others dont's and others don't excist!!!
Thirdly, don't become a victim of mails that have offers and so on... These Mails are called SPAM or Junk and the sender s of those e-mails are people who really like to have your personal DATA.

...ANyway.... be careful.... ; )

mail off my payments!

I don't respond to phishers. I read my credit card statements every month and periodically check my credit report. Only once did I see some fradulent charges on my statement. I called the bank and got it taken care off. Everything has been clean on my credit report.

WELL IN PAKISTAN...we usually are the ones doing the fraud..so i dont know what people should do to help themselves not be hacked by my paki intellagence..

Use the Internet Freedom Disk. It's free and easy to use. See link below.

It keeps your hard drive in a virtual vault while you surf. Thus protecting it from infection and spying.

I only use reputable companies such as PayPal to pay bills.

I change my password on a monthly basis.

AND, I never open any email that I am not familiar with. I simply delete.

The internet is the safest place to shop and do business.

You just have to use a little common sense such as:

1. Do not respond to any email requesting your personal information such as a bank or shopping website.

Any email that does not address you by your full name is most likely a spoof email. Delete it immediately.

2. Always shop at websites that are secure and that are familiar to you.

If the url does not start with the following: "https"....do not give them your card number nor any personal identification.

3. Change your passwords every 3 months to ensure complete piece of mind concerning your accounts.

I do several things:

1. Shred any type of offers with my name and address before going out in the trash.

2. Remove my name from junk mailing lists.

3. Review my credit report quarterly. You are allowed one free credit report annually from the three major credit companies. Instead of getting all 3 reports at once, I stagger it throughout the year.

4. When ordering online I always make sure I have the locked padlock in the lower right and the website starts with https (instead of http)

5. When ordering from a new company, I try to look at feedback from other customers if available.

6. I check my bank account regularly for unauthorized transactions using online banking provided by my bank.

7. Remain as vigilant as possible at all times!

Only use the websites with a lock on the bottom. Dont share personal information full name and address or home phone or use a credit card.

You shouldn't make payment or do anything on line that requires you to give out personal information like that. Usually things like that are scams when they want cc information or your ssn

What is the difference in risk between handing your credit card to a cashier, waiter or clerk and using it on a retail web site?

I use a virtual account number with CitiCards to make purchases on line that are not covered by my PayPal. Whenever I have a purchase, citicard generates a number that is only good for that vendor, for one month, and is nothing like my actual card number.

update my computer from people using websites as a way to trick people,NEVER trust websites that ask questions they shouldn't. bank i use,social secruity number,my address(to send more annoying mail) anything that is involved with money. i also don't do shopping or settle a bill for school tuition online because my private information is there as well as my dad's income. things have to be done outside more often to make sure it's done on paper and handed in rather than all information put on computer where anyone's seen as a target.

I run Norton 360 to ensure I am protected from online fraud and identity theft.

Thank you for a great question.
Security over the Internet, what can a user do?
I'll tell you what I do, always check to ensure you are dealing with a secure server, if you plan any type of downloads,
remember the phony scams may try to say all our Internet
transactions are secure, but are they really?
How can you check? Not very much to work with here,
I have two tiers of security, three actually, my 2-wire modem/
router has a built-in fire wall, but that doesn't apply to
complete security coverage.
I have 2007 version, Norton's Internet Security, and
Pareto's Logic (regcure) to keep my files and registries
clear of clutter.

I go by this rule, I do not download any thing off the Internet,
unless I have determined that I essentially need this product,
and I have verified that they have a secure server to run all
my data strreaming through it.
Sometimes hard to do, but you learn by experience, I had a
total platform (Windows ME) totally destroyed by a worm or
a virus, now, I take no chances, as operating systems are
too expensive to replace.

Always ask the provider what kind of protection they offer
to ensure privacy on your passwords, credit card numbers,
and account information.
Send a separate email to their contact us department, and
see what comes back.
If their business is not disingenuous, and they offer an honest
product, and you feel you need this product to conduct your
daily operations, then proceed with caution.

There are no real guarantees in life, but it is possible to cut down the risk factors substantially.

Another resource to refer to would be
www.kimkomando.com, send her an email requesting
what she recommends to enjoy effective Internet Security
and peace of mind for your cyber-space surfing.
Kim is the digital goddess or guru on all matters pertaining
to the computer, software or hardware

Thats my message, good luck.



Donald H. Sites
[email protected]

I'm not too sure if what I do protects me, but so far in the last 3 years I have not had any problems.

I have two e-mail addresses. One I use for all general Internet stuff. I don't give any personal information on that connection.

The other e-mail address is given only to people that I know and trust. And it is strictly for business.

I do get junk on the first one and I just block or delete. So far so good.

I know that anything done on the Internet is not fool proof.

Someone told me a few years ago that there was an Agency called (from memory) the :"Internet Intelligence Agency".

They can find out everything and anything if you are a target for them.

I forgot to mention...I have two PC's ...one for each e-mail.

Never post #'s or social on the web unless it is a locked web site.

I NEVER put my ss # online or use it in anyway on the internet. I get around it or use another form of ID which is becoming more acceptable.
I have an unlisted phone #. I make sure cc companies take me off their "Do not call list or do not share information" ONLINE I always uncheck the email promotions. When signing up for things I do not use my name unless I have to put it in to purchase something. My computer does not have any personal information on it nor does my name appear anywhere. I do work and then print it off and delete.
I shred my bills or any information received in the mail.
This is not foolproof but it helps. I Take the outgoing mail to the Post Office., I use a Postal Box for mail for any online business. I am paranoid. Yes I can show up in seraches. I recently paid a service to take my name off some public records, they use, to give to other agencies. Cost me $2.00 per site, I spent about $12.00. Did it all get removed? Probably not but it took a lot out. I try to be careful of how and where I provide information. It is not foolproof but it does help to be careful. I have had CC compromised twice, both inside jobs but I noticed immediately and it was taken care of. I cancelled the CC. The bank knew about the other and stopped the transaction but it was an inside job.

I delete smap email (never click on those) use fire walls. When loggin in websites I check to make sure it's the correct website and not a phishing one (a.i. myspace has lot of "fake" log in pages so I check to make sure it's not one of those) I use a different password for different log ins. Using just one password for all your internet pages is just plain dangerous. Coz if someone gets a hold of it they have access to all your information. I also use paypal to pay for things online.

Good & very helpful question! Now a days the fraud & identity theft are increasing a lot. I feel when you are doing any transactions or providing Credit Information to any of the web sites, kindly check whether it has a Secured Socket Layer, when ever you access sites you will see a SSL symbol with a closed lock meaning that site is secured. Also before you go further contact the site & clarify as most of these kinds of sites have online help & Support.
Now about your password, it is always suggest having a password of at least 8 digits with alpha numeric, never give your password to anyone or disclose it in chat or E-mails. Try to keep changing your passwords at least ones a month. If you are accessing the Internet from a Cyber Cafe, then see that you will delete all the Cookies & Temporary Files before you logout from the cafe. Most important never believe an E-mail related to financial matters very easily. Cross check with the web site if it is a real email.

even though i'm only a teen. i do'nt put a lot of personal information on there. i have a myspace. and yes it says my name. but also it is on private. i don't put where i live and i don't put my number. some of my friends do. and strangers talk to them. and there is this one girl. that talks to people in a whole other state and they meet and talk. i hate this girl. but she needs to quit.
also. i do'nt talk to anyone like on aim, who i don't know. i they im me i ask who they are and if they say you tell me first i don't. i just block them or sign off. who knows how they get this information. its really dangerous. the other week some girl got raped because she met some guy who said he was 16 but was really a 35 year old. he raped her and then dropped her back off at school.

also. i have been stalked.
now the guy is in jail for raping a 14 year old.
and watching child porn.

The identity theft that occur from 'phishing' (fake e-mails requesting passwords to bank accounts, ebay, etc.) I am not worried about because you can spot them a mile away. However what I am worried about is the credit card transactions that occur on the online stores, ebay, etc. These transactions can be captured by the crooks who hack databases and/or the wireless data that is sent over the air. You can't really do anything about it outside of not using online purchasing. What we need is a strong government that, through laws, encourages all companies to have a strong security policy/practice and to punish those who don't (and / or repeat offenders.) Similar to how Sarbanes-Oxley was enacted after the Enron fiasco.

Wow!! Everybody here has great answers..thanks guys!! I am learning a lot. Here my two cents worth; #1......look to see if you have enable the highest security settings for your Internet browser found under tools section. #2..look at the web site to see what are "store" polices are This can found under FAQ section. #3 Check toward the bottom of the store web page to see if by chance; the site is a member of the Better Business Bureau etc #4 Toward the bottom of your browser; you should be able to see a bell or some other symbol that indicates that money info WILL transmitted securely over the Internet WHEN you click the "purchase" button. #5.. MAKE a print copy of your receipt for proof or purchase etc.

PROTECT YOUR PASSWORD by NEVER giving your password to anyone, including employees of any website. Protect yourself against fraudulent websites by opening a new web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer or Netscape) and typing in the URL every time you log in to your account. Log off after your done.

Beware of unsolicited letters or emails from a foreign source.

Never click on links sent in unsolicited emails;
instead, type in a web address you know. Use firewalls,anti-spyware, and anti-virus software to protect your home computer; keep them up-to-date.

Don't give out personal information on the phone, through the mail, or over the Internet unless you know who you are dealing with.

I try to make sure no one is around my computer when I am typing in my passwords. I put a lot of blind faith into the website that I am on that they have the proper security to protect my personal and credit card information.

First, I only buy from secure sites! Unbelievably, there are unsecure sites out there. I have a credit monitoring service that checks for suspicious activity. When logging in to bank websites to pay credit cards, I always enter incorrect information first, which takes me to a secure screen to enter my user name and password. I'm VERY cautious about giving out my Social Security number! I've stopped payment on a couple of purchases on my credit cards that I didn't make, but if somebody got my SS#, they could REALLY cause a problem!

Up to date security software is imperative, without it we are open season for hackers and programs made to do a hackers job, steal our information.... I do use a security suite to protect my computer, but I also use a password program that stores all my passwords. With this software, I can generate extremely secure passwords for online use. So now I only need to remember one password, and it is well over 12 characters long, so im not worried about a hacker cracking it.....
I also see many people suggesting P2P programs, specifically limewire, this could possibly be the weakest link in trying to protect yourself.....These programs are a triple threat, not only do they install addware, which can degrade system performance, but they give people direct access to their hard drives, allowing hackers direct access, bypassing the firewall......Also the stuff you can download with these programs can include viruses, and spyware.....

I would like to see you post a question about the use of this type of software, and some facts about its security risks.....

I have 1 card with a very low balance.
Its only purpose is to buy things online, and I have fraud protection on it.

I use the same reputable companies with whom I have done business for many years and only pay them by check or Money Order.

Always be prepared, stay informed, and stay alert! Keep all your software updated. Read all you can about safeguarding your most important information.


Start today, start here: Yahoo! Security Center

http://security.yahoo.com/

Only buy from trusted and secure sites.

when they send a frud news and any of bad when we can see the windows tool bar we can see the book mark here. Then we can find easily

Dont give ANYONE your information. If they say they are a company, either ask them their company name and number, and try and find their website. If you cant find one, DONT TRUST THEM. Any legitimate company will have a website.

My bank offers online access so I check my accounts 3 to 4 times a week to make sure that they aren't compromised.

I also only use secure sites when giving out my credit card information. I make sure that the company is well known and reputable before I use them.

I destroy all credit card offers I receive in the mail by shredding them so that somebody can not open an account in my name.

I don't carry my social security number with me. I keep it locked up at home in the safe along with my credit card.

I check my credit history every 4 -6 months to monitor any activity.

Just use my brains and keep on top of my credit cards.
I have been doing credit card transactions on line for 9 years and even have an online bank (Everbank), and the only intrusion on my credit ever was due someone stealing a credit card offer out of my at the street mailbox!

Well I wish I knew what I do now about this very real problem cause it happened to me a few months ago, First do not post your full name on any site , or the City /Town you are from.Second install a verry good anti pshing/ spyware program into your computer. Third do not give out your bank card #over any site it's best to get one of those green dot cards that you can get just about anywhere if you plan to purchase anything over the internet, you can put as much money as you want on it and when you are done with it ther'es no wory about anyone getting into your bank account. Also never give any personal information like your age Social Security # or anything else like I mentioned above.And dont use a credit Card!!!!!Check your credit score and Report frequently for any suspicious activity.If fraud does happen to you contact your Bank, Credit card companies.And report it .Also make out a police report as soon as it is detected. Change your Bank Account.Cancel your credit cards. I know that all of this seems like alot to do but take it one step at a time and you will get through it. Another word of advice don't use on line banking ,. they can get you real good that way too.I hope this dosen,t happen to any of you out there cause it's really scarey and you can loose alot. One more thing remember to shread all personal documents before throwing them in the trash That is very important,and cut up all credit card offers that you get in the mail.I've learned all this from the police. Also the Social security Office has a very helpful pamphlet on this subject that you might want to check out. Good luck and protect yourself.V

Well for one, I do not go to sites that are of a suspicious nature. For one the are such things as drive-by-downloading of malicious spyware. I download software, but I do it from established download centers; Such as CNet, ZDNet, most of the computer magazines such as PC, PC World. The reason? Because they checked the downloads out and any of the applications sites before you do. They will not allow a download to be listed of a suspicious nature.

On EMail, I do not even open email from people I do not know, I just delete it. But every once in a while I will go to a phishing site if only to find out where they are from, what country it originates from. But I do participate in entering information. There is a reason that I do this:
1. I have was trained in computers from the age of 16, I am now 56.
2. I have been with micro's since they came out, owned a TRS-80.
3. I have been working with the internet since 1995.
4. I am very careful about what I do when I go phishing exploring, I use WHOIS to find at least the country of origin.

Even while I used a telephone connection, before I got connected to a high speed cable connection I used a firewall. Use of a firewall is essential for any computer connected to the internet. Virus detection is also another tool that people do not want to be without. There is no excuse not to have both of these tools, they both can be gotten for free by concerned corporations.

The biggest problem is with children, not in their use of the internet, but because of their natural curiosity of "FREE" applications. I do a search on the web for anything that says it is free because "FREE" does not always mean free from spyware. I look to see what is said about the application, if it is bad, tracks your moves on the internet, then I do not load it. Granted there are reasons for reporting back to the source, such as "Weather Bug". But "Weather Bug" does it so that they can get the proper weather report back to the person's computer.

We can not not use the internet, all we can do is use the tools that are given us and use them all of the time.

All excellent answers. Yes passwording properly, not giving out personal information and such are of course key I believe that anything can be broken into eventually. That's why I think the last line of defense is in what someone could do with your account once they have it.

I liked the answers about using the prepay credit cards or gift cards such as the American Express ones. You could "give" yourself one in say your dog's name using a fake address and load it up once in a while. I like the idea of a fake address because you don't want your dog getting junk mail!

But alternately......... I have a few credit cards with super high limits and of course a debit card. What I did was open another charge account, specifically requested that it only have an $800.00 limit and this is what I use online. If someone stole this it would be better easier to deal with the card issuer for $800.00 rather than someone charging $25,000 or emptying my bank account.

I use a credit monitoring service, which is $9.95 a month. I use it for me and my husband. It alerts me whenever there has been a change to my credit report, i.e. new accounts, inquiries into my credit report, etc. I also log on about once a month to review it, in case anything slipped by me. I really like it and it makes me feel like I have some control over my credit report. If a fradulent account is opened in my name, it will show up on my credit report, I can dispute it right away instead of when it goes in collections - which is when most people find out when their identity has been stolen.

1.) do you have a checking account in the u.s.a ? then you can go to http://www.paypal.com ..... an open a account using your check book and one of your checks pay-pal is the best way I've Found to send Money International or to receive Money International
2.) start a checking account just to receive Money with a account balance of $1 then have them to do a wire transfer most the time it just cost $10 per a transfer

I dont sign the back of my my cards (credit or debit) instead I write "SEE ID" in a bold sharpie marker. This way if someone steals my card they will have to show proof that they are me to use it. Besides that I always try to use a bbb (better bus. bureau) company

Believe it or not, I never buy anything over the internet. I never do any banking on the internet, including paying bills. I think that's about the best protection I can do.

Oh yeh and those sites that say u can view something for free or join for free then on the registration ask for your card details.
Dont do it find a simalar site its worth extra searching.
After all they are saying its free
SO WHAT DO THEY NEED YOUR CARD DETAILS FOR?
A:THEY DONT
SO WHAT DO THEY WANT THEM FOR?
A: ALTHOUGH SOME ARE GENUINE MOST ARE NOT YOUR DETAILS COULD BE USED FOR ALL SORTS TRAFFICING CHILD PORN<PURCHASERS<DRUGS ETC
Please be carefull anti viruse's and firewall,spyware etc dont pick up everything especially if u make ur self vulnerable by giving your details out.
I had a trojan virus that should have been picked up before i did the scan but anyway before i knew i had it, iwent on to my banks site to transfer some money to my brother 2 days later i was having emails on my normal email add thanking me for purchases.
Turns out the virus had made me vulnerable to hackers.
Just goes to show dont it.

firewall

when making online purchases use a gift card that way if someone tries to steal the card it's only good for whats on there.
only give personal information to secure sites like when doing your taxes online. dont give out personal info to any other sites

I use MBNA ShopSafe. So the cards I use on-line are one-time, one merchant, short duration and fixed value. I could post a card number on here that I used yesterday and you'd only be able to get 62c from it and only if you called yourself Cingular.

Other than that I don't shop at places that don't have an excellent record already, tough luck for startups, someone else can take the risk.

I don't give personal details, a commercial site that wants my mother's maiden name or my date of birth probably isn't somewhere I want to deal with.

I don't use MS IE, I use FireFox with, among other add-ons, noscript, flashblock and adblock plus. I always work from behind a firewall. I use SiteAdvisor too. When I need MS IE compatibility I use Avant Browser with the advert blocker on and flash disabled.

I use Linux on a none x86 platform most of the time, so most exploits won't work on my o/s.

When I do use Windows on-line I use a good anti virus program which is updated every day and always switched on. In nine years I've seen five viruses and one of those was sent to me by my boss.

I run Ad-Aware regularly to see if anything has crept in. Usually all it finds is a few tracking cookies.

I also opted out of pre-screened credit offers and told my credit card companies to never send me blank checks unless they wanted the account closed.

Paranoid? Nope, careful.

don't give out your personnel information on a unsure computer

dont share informative ideas, including real names, address, credit card no. , place of work and many other personal informations. just do it if you really trust or the company has a well established name in terms of on-line transaction.

Under the Consumer Credit Protection Act of 1972, consumers who report fraud on their credit cards in writing to the banking institution are liable for only the first $50. Even then, banks will waive that $50 in the interests of not losing a good customer. With that in mind, we can rest easier about using a credit card for online purchases. However, it is not recommended to give out sensitive information, such as a SSN or driver's license number.

To be truthful, there is more you can do off-line to safeguard identity theft, such as using permanent ink pens for checks and walking your mail inside the post office. This is the #1 method for thieves to get your identity and access to your bank accounts. The mail is stolen from mailbox outside the post office, and yes, we did it right outside in the parking lot. Thieves will then take your checks, copy your signature, then with a chemical concoction, wipe away what you wrote on the check in ball point pen. At that point, they have a blank check and your signature.

Sorry for the diatribe, but on-line theft is just an over-hyped subject.

you cant!
just make sure you have spysweeper!

Well there's lots of things you could do to protect yourself from on line fraud like: if you was to sign some papers over the Internet I would prefer you not to put your social security number on any of it. Because some one could get your social security number and mess you up.

well first isuggest you download a spyware and antivirus scanner that will scan for trojans and other malicious objects in your computer so that any trojan wont be able to record you private information and next is to put a password to your wireless network if you posses one becasue network hunters an enter your computer through the network and they could be in youre neighbourhood and never use a a bluetooth mike for your phone any nearby hackers can enter your cellphone and plant a trojan in ther.do these and you should be preety safe

I watch my accounts like a hawk, I rarely use credit cards other then with websites I've grown accustomed to as standards, Amazon, Yahoo, MIDWAY. I run transactions through Paypal..

I report phishing attempt to the ebay fraud and paypal fraud divisions. If I receive phishing attempts in emails I send them the appropriate bank. I never reply to emails that require information.

Common sense is born of necessity.

NEVER EVER TRUST and EMAIL FROM A VENDOR IN ANY FORM..

I crosscut shred all bills, cancelled checks, and mail that is for a credit application.

I've been hearing an ad on the radio for a LIFELOCK? I've not investigated.. I do believe online fraud and id theft is something our FBI and State department take more seriously as much of the crime is committed by offshore individuals. We need to seriously consider how we stop it.

I am a systems engineer, password protection is the 1st step, don't make you password simple. Make it somethin you can remember but make it a minimum of 10 characters in length and a mix of numbers, letters, and !@#$%^&*(){}<>?;',./ characters.

Make sure you are going to the site you are intending to. Check the SSL certificate by clicking on the lock in your browsers status bar.

Run Antivirus Daily and Spyware detectors daily or weekly depending on your browsing habits. If you go to a non-trusted site, run the ad program.
Make sure your browser is set to prompt you for installations. Don't allow ANYONE to install anything on your computer without your knowledge. spyware/malware often hide in unscrupulous websites, I've detected many that come from children game sites. Because the crooks know their victims, kids use mom and dad's computers so why not design a game sight as a honeypot for kids, plant spyware and next thing you know Your MasterCard bill is maxed.

I use a filtering package as well to disallow my kids from going to certain websites. I restrict my kids to using their computer and not using my where I have my bank account and tax information stored.

I encrypt data files prior to burning to CD's, I rotate burned CD's once a year and shred the old ones.

Password crackers often take login names and redirect them through dictionaries, Don't use a dictionary word for a password.

Think like a crook. If you think like a crook you can protect yourself.

I dont have my name as part of my e mail address.....

I have used the Internet from the day when it was a Phone number dial-in to a Host computer. They were not interconnect like today. Never had a Virus, in the sence of troublesome. I got a Tracking Cookie! :-p
This is simple, but, requires some disiciplined thought.
Everythime I go to a web page I glance at the Address Bar. In time your Regular Sites you just know. May not be able to quote it, but, if it not show correct in the Bar you will know. Example: www.yahoo.com becomes www1.yahoo.com
www.google.com becomes www.goggle.com etc.
I use well known sites and after I visit a new site check to see what it did to my computer when I was there. If, it loaded a suspicious Java Script or file. I block that site and never return.
I NEVER open e-mail from people I not know. The people and business I know are in my Address Book, everything else go to Bulk and Trashed no matter how interesting the subject line. Also, if I recieve an e-mail from someone with an Attachment and they have not mentioned sending me a file I verify they did send the file. Example; guess about a year ago many people got a virus. E-mail and it send to everyone in the address book. Looked very legitimate. Said; I changed my e-mail and the new address is below. It was an e-mail in an .exe file???? No way! I ask my friend if she sent me a file and she said "NO". I told her to scan for viruses and she got the problem fixed.
Good Firewall is the first and best virus prevention. It keeps the computer from being an extended server or keylogger when we not know. Example; not long ago and it may still be happening. Someone get the ISP of providers then goes around trying to come in the back door of people connected to that server. With a good Firewall, everyone I knew just seen it was being blocked. I looked it up on the Inet and that how I knew what it was. Told them to tell the ISP provider and maybe they take care of it. But, the Firewall prevented any problems.
That about it. Do the above and a person almost not need a Virus Software. But, it provide a second opinion.
Then your identity is as safe as possible and you only have to worry about the people working for the places you do business. Example; my brother got a new credit card. Not long after he recieved a very large bill. Turned out an employee had used it before he got it. ;-)

1.) obviously, be careful with who you do business with on the internet - reputation is everything. in today's info age, if you can't find out about someone, they probably aren't legitimate.

2.) understand what you are doing on-line. if you don't know the difference between a secure site and a non-secure site (hhtp vs hhtps), or the definition of phishing, you are not educated enough to do business on-line and should go to a store. (realize that a clerk at a store can steal credit information or use your card # almost as easily as someone on-line. walking into a store is NO guarantee these days...)

3.) finally, if you are comfortable doing business on-line and just want some level of protection, go to LifeLock.com. they are a relatively new company offering identity protection services. they have been getting good results and positive feedback on their delivery. go to:

http://www.lifelock.com/

All the answers given are great. I use a good firewall and anti spy ware software.I make sure I use only trusted sites with encryption but honestly there is no sure fire way of being 100% protected they may not get into your computer but they may hack into the company your dealing with computer.Use a lot of common sense if something looks odd or not right don't give out personal information.If someone sends you an email asking for personal information do not give it out because no legitimate company's send emails like that.Yahoo or Google Identity theft protection to find out on the facts to protect your self.

Humm.. well, I recommend you to stop using your credit card online so much! That's the most important. I've only used my credit card to buy books (that was a one time buy), and to pay my school, and I don't anymore. I believe wire transfers are better.
DO NOT write or keep any personal information in your e-mail! That's not logical, that's the reason why so many people have had their identity stolen. Use Fraud protectors and Phising filters, but these security stuff aren't always as safe as we believe. You should buy Trojan for your computer, or download the free version, but remember, these were made by people, and the same people who made it know how to break it! So don't trust everything to the internet! Make sure you don't use the password on your internet for emails, and stuff also to use it for bank accounts and stuff like that.
Passwords are stolen everyday, so I repeat. DO NOT KEEP ANY IMPORTANT INFORMATION ONLINE, ON WEBPAGES, ON E-MAIL OR ON ANYTHING THAT USES THE INTERNET!!!

I practice "smart computing." I don't give personal information out, and I'm very guarded about my social security number.

I'm not too worried about using my Bank of America Debit Card online, because there's a fraud protection guarantee that it comes with, and if anyone ever fraudulently uses my card, I'm not liable.

I think that the next step in online payment processing is to be able to pass tokens back and forth through the internet that represent money, without actually having to provide any identification. PayPal is a first step towards this goal, but much is left to be done. I'd like to be able to do a financial transaction anonymously, similar to walking into the store, handing someone a dollar bill for a bag of chips, and walking out again, without having to identify myself to the store owner.

i have always used a virtual credit card when buying on the net, which is as little as possible, i might add. i´ve just been having a look on google , for the umpteenth time and think i might have at last found the place i was looking for ,somewhere to denounce fraudelent firms and scams too.the more people report these scams , the better able we will be to stamp out lottery frauds e.t.c. heres the addy
http://www.consumer.gov/sentinel/
will keep on looking out.unbelivable as it may seem, ppl have actually died directly or indirectly because of these lottery and african frauds.

shred all important documents which have personnel information. And that includes your credit card statements. Burn personnel documents as well.

Well, definitely remember to sign off if you've just ducked into a computer cafe. (Which I actually did once. I got this friendly e-mail from stranger saying he'd done it for me. I wasn't so sure at the time, but no damage was done.) I am responding to this question because it's a very good one and I am interested in what other people have got to say. They may or may not be experts in the field but you have provided a valuable forum here for all sorts of people - all sorts of feedback.

use a secured explorer like mozilla firefox

Well the way I combat on-line fraud is the new antiviral gold software on both my p.c. and laptop - it allows me to bounce all my private information from one to the other every 30 minutes and it uses blocks firewall so it doesn't interrupt my Internet time - fantastic and safe.

Do not answer to the e-mails that you are not sure of who are the senders. Keep on trying to find more about the frauders from different sources so that you can be sure of how to escape the frauders

i do not give out personal info. Not even my name. It is very dangerous and online-dating is even worse because predators have a chance of finding you so i just do what i got 2 do and i only talk to ppl i no! :) hope thhis helps Here are some safety tips for non-online safety:
This makes a lot of sense -- read it.

Everyone should take 5 minutes to read this. It may save your life or love one's life.
Crucial
Because of recent abductions
in daylight hours,refresh yourself
of these things to do
in an emergency situation...
This is for you,
and for you to share
with your wife,
your children,
everyone you know.
After reading these 9 crucial tips ,
forward them to someone you care about.
It never hurts to be careful
in this crazy world we live in.






1 Tip from Tae Kwon Do :
The elbow
is the strongest point
on your body.
If you are close enough to use it,
do!






2. Learned this from a tourist guide
in New Orleans
If a robber asks
for your wallet and/or purse,
DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM
Toss it away from you....
chances are
that he is more interested
in your wallet and/or purse
than you,
and he will go
for the wallet/purse.
RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!






3. If you are ever thrown
into the trunk of a car,
kick out the back tail lights
and stick your arm out the hole
and start waving like crazy.
The driver won't see you,
but everybody else will.
This has saved lives.






4. Women have a tendency
to get into their cars after shopping,
eating, working, etc.,
and just sit (doing their checkbook,
or making a list, etc.
DON'T DO THIS!)
The predator
will be watching you,
and this is the perfect opportunity
for him to get in
on the passenger side,
put a gun to your head,
and tell you where to go.
AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR ,
LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE.

a. If someone
is in the car
with a gun
to your head
DO NOT DRIVE OFF,
repeat:
DO NOT DRIVE OFF!
Instead gun the engine
and speed into anything,
wrecking the car.
Your Air Bag will save you.
If the person is
in the back seat
they will get the worst of it .
As soon as the car crashes
bail out and run.
It is better than having them
find your body
in a remote location.

5 A few notes about getting
into your car in a parking lot,
or parking garage:
A.) Be aware:
look around you,
look into your car,
at the passenger side floor ,
and in the back seat
B..) If you are parked next to a big van,
enter your car from the passenger door .
Most serial killers attack their victims
by pulling them into their vans
while the women are attempting
to get into their cars.
C..) Look at the car
parked on the driver's side
of your vehicle,
and the passenger side.
If a male is sitting alone
in the seat nearest your car,
you may want to walk back
into the mall, or work,
and get a guard/policeman
to walk you back out.
IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better paranoid than dead.)


6. ALWAYS
take the elevator
instead of the stairs.
(Stairwells are horrible places
to be alone
and the perfect crime spot.
This is especially true at NIGHT!)

7. If the predator has a gun
and you are not under his control,
ALWAYS RUN!
The predator will only hit you
(a running target)
4 in 100 times;
And even then,
it most likely
WILL NOT
be a vital organ.
RUN,
Preferably !
in a zig -zag pattern!




8. As women,
we are always trying
to be sympathetic:
STOP
It may get you raped,
or killed.
Ted Bundy,
the serial killer,
was a good-looking,
well educated man,
who ALWAYS played
on the sympathies
of unsuspecting women.
He walked with a cane,
or a limp,
and often asked
"for help"
into his vehicle
or with his vehicle,
which is when he abducted
his next victim.
************ * Here it is *******
9. Another Safety Point:
Someone just told me
that her friend heard
a crying baby on her porch
the night before last,
and she called the police
because it was late
and she thought it was weird.
The police told her
"Whatever you do,
DO NOT
open the door."
The lady
then said that
it sounded like the baby
had crawled near a window,
and she was worried
that it would crawl
to the street
and get run over.
The policeman said,
"We already have a unit on the way,
whatever you do,
DO NOT open the door."
He told her that they think
a serial killer
has a baby's cry recorded
and uses it to coax
women out of their homes
thinking that someone
dropped off a baby
He said they have not verified it,
but have had several calls
by women saying that
they hear baby's cries
outside their doors
when they're home alone
at night.

Please pass this on and
DO NOT
open the door
for a crying baby ----
This
e-mail should probably
be taken seriously because
the Crying Baby theory
was mentioned on
America 's Most Wanted
this past Saturday
when they profiled
the serial killer in Louisiana


I'd like you
to forward this
to all the women you know.
It may save a life.
A candle is not dimmed
by lighting another candle.
I was going to send this to the ladies only,
but guys,
if you love your mothers,
wives,
sisters,
daughters, etc.,
you may want to
pass it onto them, as well.

Send this
to anyone you know
that may need
to be reminded
that the world we live in
has a lot of crazies in it
and it's better to be safe
than sorry.
Everyone should take 5 minute to read this. It may save your life or love one's life.