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Today, with so much information regarding a person’s life is on the Internet, so much can go wrong if people are not careful.

Guarding against the malicious intent of hackers with the best firewall, security, and anti-virus programs is a good start. However, no computer program can replace common sense, when it comes to protecting your personal information, regardless of how protected computers are from harm.

When it comes to protecting your personal information, including user names and passwords, credit card, and other account information, it pays to be vigilant against fraudulent websites and email messages.

Fraudulent Emails

Proceed with extreme caution when dealing with emails in your blackberry smart phone asking for your personal information, dealing with financial affairs, with these do’s and don’ts:

Do not:

• Click on any links contained in unsolicited emails
• Reply to unsolicited emails
• Fill out any forms contained in emails asking for personal information
• Open attachments contained in emails from unknown senders
• Respond to emails asking you to act quickly, or emails telling you that it is an urgent matter

Do:

• Remember that when emails promise offers or deals that appear too good to be true, they probably are
• Verify requests for any personal information claiming to be a financial institution where you conduct business
• Log onto your personal account at the official site and contact them using the information on the site.
• Contact the business and make them aware of the emails
• Always compare the link in the e-mail with the link to which you are directed and determine if they match and will lead you to a legitimate site

Fraudulent Text Messages

With smishing, scammers send text messages to cell phones, offering deals in an attempt to secure personal information.