Answering directly from your end to the website source of the named company, the phisher can make it appear he is in that site, but actually deviates you to another web link. To avoid this, verify about the message by using landlines that you think is legitimate. Or, answer by using another Internet browser. If you have several credit cards, do not carry all of them with you. Bring only one or two credit cards when you go out. This would minimize the chance of you credit being stolen and of you becoming a victim of identity number theft. 6. such as social security numbers, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, passwords, etc on your laptops or desktops personal computers. Ensure that they are treated as secure documents. Ask businesses how they store and dispose of credit card transaction skips. Ensure that proper safeguards are in place to treat these documents securely. Never giver credit card numbers or other personal information over the phone unless you initiate the call. How Easy is it to Get Personal Information? The amount of information available on the Internet about you and those you know is almost unbelievable. Various companies offer services that provide address, criminal, civil, and professional history as well as a list of assets and bank account numbers. Also available are the Social Security number, last six addresses, current phone number as well as names and phone numbers of neighbors. In their haste to explore the exciting features of the Internet, many people respond to "spam" unsolicited E-mail that promises them some benefit but requests identifying data, without realizing that in many cases, the requester has no intention of keeping his promise. In some cases, criminals reportedly have used computer technology to obtain large amounts of personal data. This can be a major problem for anyone because not only will you have to worry about your personal properties like credit cards and bank accounts, you also have to think about the fact that someone else is using your name and your reputation to do god-knows what. According to the FTC, there are more than 160,000 reported cases of identity fraud in the country in 2002.