How Can I Avoid Identity Theft?
In order to avoid identity theft, you should consider the following basic guidelines: • Never give out your social security number online, to anyone, for any reason. • Frequently change your passwords for bank accounts, online shopping sites, etc, and choose strong passwords. • Never send private, personal information over the network in an unprotected channel. See the question about secure connections for more information. • Restrict physical access to your computer: use a password-protected screensaver. • Never store personal, private data (social security number, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, passwords) on your desktop or in your file system. • Always take immediate action to repair infected or hacked machines. See the Safe Computing Guide for more information. • Avoid phishing attacks.
