December 18, 2006
Check Your Internet Security - Maintaining Your Privacy on the Internet Things you can do To Protect Yourself
Protecting yourself from predators on the Internet is very important. Many people will try to get your personal information so they can have access to your financial accounts, your credit records, and other valuable assets. You can be on guard and protect yourself. There are almost 10 million identity theft victims a year according to the Federal Trade Commission.
That’s a lot!
A few things you can do to protect your personal information are:
Find out why you re being asked for your personal information: your name, email or home address, phone number or Social Security number. If you share this information, check out how it will be protected. Tell your kids to never give out a last name, phone number, or home address on the Internet. Never send personal information through email messages. Email is not secure communication.
If you get a pop-up or email message asking you for your personal information, contact that company by clicking into their website and not following a link in an email or pop-up ad.
If you are shopping on-line, don t provide financial information such as a credit card number or bank account number unless you re sure the site is privacy protected. Look for the lock on the browser status bar or by checking the website URL. If the website URL is https, the s on the end indicates it is a secure site.
Of course use firewalls and anti virus software. Keep an eye out for PayPal phishing schemes and report them if you use PayPal.












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