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Internet Security: Stay Safe Online

An e-mail warns that your personal information has been compromised. What should you do?

by: Liz Weston, from: AARP The Magazine, Sept./Oct. 2011 issue

Social media users should avoid revealing information that might be used in financial sites' security questions, such as birth date or maiden name.

Fending off Fraudsters

If you get a "security alert" from a bank or credit card company, don't click on e-mail links or call the number listed, in case it's fake. Instead, use a phone number you know to be authentic.
If your Social Security number is stolen, ask the credit bureaus to freeze your credit reports.

If you haven't already, tell your financial institutions you don't want them to share your info with other companies.

Off-line transactions require caution, too

Avoiding the Web won't protect your credit card, debit card, or bank-account information. Bad guys can hack credit card databases or "skim" data off cards at ATMs and stores. Checks are no more secure, because the information needed to access your account — name, bank routing number, and account number — is printed on each one. So keep a watchful eye on your accounts, and order credit reports annually to ensure new accounts have not been set up in your name.

Liz Weston, author of The 10 Commandments of Money: Survive and Thrive in the New Economy, blogs at asklizweston.com.