You are the best person to protect your personal information. Here are some simple things you can do to protect yourself.

Protecting Your Personal Information

Treat Personal Information like Cash

Think of your personal information - Social Security number, PIN, account numbers, date of birth, and so forth - like cash. Protect it, and be careful how you use it!

• Carry only necessary identification with you. Don’t carry your Social Security card!
• Shred documents containing personal or financial information before discarding.
• Retrieve incoming mail as soon as possible and don’t put outgoing mail in your mailbox.

Be Stingy! Be Suspicious!

• Manage how you “spend” your personal information by asking “why do you need it?” if asked for your Social Security number, driver’s license number, date of birth, etc.
• Sadly, fraud and identity theft are often committed by people you know. Are you comfortable with the amount of personal information that friends, family, and people who work in and around your home or office have access to?
• Be wary of telephone requests for information. Unless you initiated the call, do not provide personal information over the telephone. The same rule applies to requests for information in emails and at your front door.
• When shopping online, use only secure web sites. Look for online seals to make sure you are dealing with a reputable company. The seal verifies that a company is committed to its privacy policies.

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Protecting Your Computer

You don’t have to be a computer expert to protect yourself and your computer against fraud and identity theft.

• Anti-spyware protection. Spyware can allow criminals to steal personal information from your computer. Buy and install an anti-spyware protection program. Use the program to scan your computer frequently. And, remember, online threats are constantly changing so check for updates of your spyware protection program!
• Anti-virus protection. Buy and install an anti-virus protection program that detects and removes viruses. Software from major providers will protect you from a wide variety of threats, and also will provide customer service in case you have questions. Keep your anti-virus protection updated!
• Firewall. Add a firewall to your computer system. A firewall refers to any of a number of security services that prevent unauthorized users from gaining access to a computer, or that monitor transfers of information to and from the computer.
• Operating System & Software Updates. Install software fixes (sometimes called "patches" or "service packs") that are made available for your computer programs as soon as possible, especially if the fix addresses a security hole.

Phishing

While online banking and e-commerce is very safe, you should be careful about giving out your personal financial information over the Internet.

• Be suspicious of any email with urgent requests for personal financial information.
• Don't use the links in an email, instant message, or chat to get to any web page if you suspect the message might    not be authentic.
• Avoid filling out forms in email messages that ask for personal financial information.
• Always ensure that you're using a secure website when submitting credit card or other sensitive information via your Web browser.
• Ensure that your browser is up to date and security patches applied.

 Phishing is a type of attack called "social engineering."  Read Walter S. Mossberg's tips on how to avoid being tricked (used by permission from AllThingsD.com, a Web site of Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

Scams

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Con artists use a variety of scams - involving work from home, dating, charity, auctions, lotteries, and many others - to separate you from your money. Con artists work online and in person.

Here are some common frauds. The Alliance for Consumer Fraud Awareness website shows you how to spot these and other scams.

• Dating Scam. The victim’s online “boyfriend” or “girlfriend” sends the victim a check or money order with instructions to deposit it and wire a portion of the money back to the “friend.” The check or money order appears valid but is bogus.
• Work from Home Scam. The victim answers an ad for a job that promises good money for work that can be done from home. The job involves depositing checks into the victim’s bank account. The victim often is told to wire 90% of the check amount back to the “employer” and keep the remaining 10% for herself as “salary.”
• Charity Scam. The victim - thinking he is helping people affected by a natural disaster or suffering from a disease - agrees to act as a middleman for donations. Like the work at home scam, the victim is asked to deposit the donation checks into  personal accounts, keep a small percentage, and send the rest of the funds by Western Union or wire to the fraudster. In some cases, the donation checks are bogus and, in other cases, the checks belong to other victims who believed they were helping a legitimate charity.

Read more about how to identify scams at www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com, a website established by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.