I know I get a little nervous sometimes accessing my bank accounts online, not to mention using my credit cards online. There are a number of things I do to protect my accounts. Here are a few as well as links to some good articles on how to keep your identity safe when accessing accounts online.
1. I never access my accounts from computers other than my own. I don't know what kind of firewall or anti-virus protection my sister has at her house or how often she scans for viruses so I don't access any bank or credit card accounts from her computer. That goes for computers at the libraries I use when I am on the road. I also avoid accessing my accounts from wireless connections away from home especially in coffee shops and hotels. A bit inconvenient but it is better to be safe than sorry in my opinion.
2. I use different user IDs and passwords for my various accounts. That way if someone cracks my ID/password for one account they don't have a free-for-all with all my accounts.
3. I never give out my user ID or password to anyone else. And I don't store them on a file on my computer. I do have them written down at home but in a cryptic way that would be hard for a bricks-and-mortar thief to figure out.
4. I keep a hard copy list of my accounts as well as phone numbers so that if something is breeched I can quickly contact the appropriate institutions. Now that I am thinking about it, I think I will put these numbers in my cell so I have them really handy.
5. I use one credit card for on-line purchases. That way if it gets stolen I only have one card to report. I have alerts on all my cards but by the time I would get an alert my card could have circumnavigated the virtual world via cyberspace.
6. I never access my accounts from email links. If I get an email that says use this link to update information on your account, I discard the email then I go check with my account to see if there really is a message out there for me to update information. There has never been one.
7. I do use the security questions suggested by my account providers. I select questions that only I know the answers to. I do genealogy on line and am very careful not to put too much family info out there or to use security questions that relate to family members.
For more information on keeping your accounts safe, check on-line with your bank and credit account providers under Security. Read what they suggest and follow these suggestions.
Here is an old article from Consumer Reports that is still valid:
And a more recent article on the Identity Theft Resource Center website.