Be Safe Online

From:

http://lifehacker.com/5858197/how-to-protect-yourself-from-online-fraud

 

Even though viruses and trojans don't make headlines as often as they used to doesn't mean you can get away without some anti-malware software installed on your system. Once installed, it's equally important to keep it up to date. Out of date antivirus and anti-malware suites are effectively useless. Besides, with options like Microsoft Security Essentials for Windows and ClamXAV for Mac out there that are free, light on system resources, and both scan and update in the background without your help, there's no reason not to have something installed.

Use Strong, Secure Passwords, and Different Ones On Different Sites
Good password management is a topic we've covered several times but if you're still using the same password on multiple sites or you're still using a dictionary word or your dog's name as your password, there's no time like now to make the change to a strong password that uses letters, numbers, caps, and special characters if possible. Still, even though you have a good strong password it's worthless if you use it on multiple sites and one of them is compromised.

Internet skepticism will serve you well. When someone asks you for something that just doesn't seem right, set it aside until you can clear up why they need the information.
If you get an message promising something—anything from a multi-million dollar cut from a foreign prince's international investments to a discount code to your favorite online retailer just for filling out a survey—learn to second-guess the offers and promotions you see on the internet and double-check their sources. Often a quick Google search for the sender or the general gist of the message with the word "scam" at the end will reveal what's really going on.

Brush up on The Federal Trade Commission's guidelines on protecting yourself from identity theft, and take a look at the federal government's tips for avoiding internet fraud at USA.gov. If it's too late or your identity is stolen anyway, both sites also have guidelines for reporting identity theft and recovering from it.