Protecting Your Personal Information Online

About the only thing you can say for sure about people over 50 is “don't generalize.” One of your friends may be planning his retirement and expecting his fourth grandchild, while another, exactly the same age, may be raising two young children and starting her own business.

We all have busy lives, and the Internet is becoming increasingly important in helping us manage our time. These days, you do a lot of things online, from paying bills and managing investments to planning vacations and communicating with family and friends.

You also do a fair amount of shopping online, and every time you make a purchase you are required to provide personal information to verify your identity and complete the sale. But be careful how much information you share and with whom. Use only trustworthy sites with encrypted security, and never share your password.

And be skeptical of spam e-mail messages that promise something for nothing or tell you to submit personal information to keep an account from closing, because they may conceal phishing scams or other fraudulent schemes that could lead to identity theft.

Next: Learn what to do if you become a victim of online fraud