One of the hottest topics in the news nowadays is "identity theft". If you're a little behind, "identity theft" is simply stealing another person's personal information to obtain credit cards, loans, identification cards, birth certificates, and just about any other official document you can think of. "Identity theft" costs businesses and consumers millions of dollars each year and in today's age of computer technology, is a real threat to just about everyone. For more information, you can visit the US Government's official website on crime prevention .

Provided below are some very simple steps to help protect your personal information and prevent "identity theft" and other computer and internet crimes:

1. Use good common sense when online. Don't do anything online that you wouldn't do in "real life".
   
   
2. Be careful when chatting in chat rooms on America On Line, ICQ, the IRC or whichever chat or messenger service you may use. Never give out your personal information in a chat room, even if you think you're in a private chat room. And if you decide to meet in person, do so in a well lighted public place.
   
   
3. Never give out your social security number online. Businesses do not need to know your social security number to sell you a product.
   
   
4. Be sure to check out an online business before making purchases online. Know who you're dealing with and make sure that the business provides secure transactions and has a published policy concerning the privacy of your personal information. You're best to stick with "big name" businesses when it comes to making online purchases.
   
   
5. When making credit card purchases online, be sure that the transaction is secure. It's best to have one separate credit card that you use only for online purchases. This makes it easier to track your purchases and follow your statements to ensure that your credit card does not get used for fraudulent purchases. And make sure that your credit card company provides protection from online credit card fraud.
   
   
6. Use anonymous email addresses. We all hate junk email, but there's almost no way around it. Get an alternate email address from Hotmail or some other service to use when signing up for newsletters and email lists. If you use America On Line, set up a second screen name to use when chatting in chat rooms. NEVER PROVIDE PERSONAL INFORMATION IN YOUR SCREEN NAME PROFILE.
   
   
7. Be careful when downloading file attachments from email addresses that you do not recognize as either friends or trusted sources. And even friends can unknowingly pass on an ugly virus or worm. If you use virus scanning software, save your file attachments and scan them with an updated virus definition table before you open them.
   
   
8. REPORT SUSPICIOUS ONLINE ACTIVITY! Too many people feel that law enforcement is unable or not equipped to deal with internet crime. This is not true. Be sure to report suspicious online activity to your local police department or sheriff's office.