How to Protect Yourself From Online Fraud

Take these actions before browsing or shopping for products and services online:

Do

Learn how to spot internet fraud by knowing the warning signs of common fraud schemes. These schemes include phishing or spoofing, data breaches, and malware.
Know your buyer or seller. If you don’t know who you’re buying from or selling to online, do some research.
Update your anti-virus software and anti-spyware programs. Most types of anti-virus software can be set up to make automatic updates. Spyware protection is any program that protects your personal information online from malware. If your operating system does not offer free spyware protection, you can download it from the internet. Or, you can purchase it at your local computer store. But, be aware of ads on the internet offering downloadable spyware protection which may be spyware itself. You should only install programs from a trusted source.

Don’t

Don’t give out your personal information to anyone you don’t trust. Never provide it in response to an email, a pop-up, or a website you’ve linked to from an email or web page.
Don’t keep your computer running all the time. Doing so will make it more prone to spyware and other attacks from hackers and identity thieves.