Scam artist have moved into the digital world. With pretty much everything being done electronically these days, it's easy to see why. Just by snagging a couple key pieces of information, like account numbers, passwords, or social security numbers they can wreak some major havoc. Who raised such rotten people, anyway?

Luckily, there's a few simple things you can do to separate yourself from the rest of the herd. Just like the old saying goes, "I don't have to outrun the bear. I just have to outrun you."

The first thing you should realize is that email is very insecure. Oh, yeah. It's a really handy tool, and I make a good living by selling email, but I'll be the first to admin that email has problems. One of the primary ones is that email is quite easy to forge, and unless you know the clues to look for it's pretty easy to assume it's valid.

This has led to a scam called "phishing" (pronounced "fishing"). The general course of events is for a scammer to send you an email pretending to be somebody else. Quite commonly that someone else is your bank, eBay or PayPal. In the message they will tell you that there's a problem with your account and you need to log in and verify your details. The email will come from customerservice@yourbank.com so you'll click on the link in the email.

Unfortunately, that link leads to a website only pretending to be your bank. The sites are convincing. The aim is to get you to type in your username and password. After clicking the login button you'll get a "system error" message telling you to try again later. By the time you remember to try again, the scammer will have logged into your real account by then and stolen your money.

And in another stroke of bad luck, the most common web browser out there, Internet Explorer, happens to be one of the worst. It has a long history of security flaws that allow a scammer to masquerade as someone else. It is entirely possible to get an email directing you to www.paypal.com and to set up a site looking exactly like the original, down to the address displayed at the top. All the while you're a victim of an attack.

Luckily, there are some things you can do.

• Never provide your information to an unsolicited request.
• Don't give out your password.
  Your bank doesn't need it to access your account.
• Check your account statements regularly and prompty report any discrepancies.
  That's just good advice all the time.
• Keep up to date with security patches for your internet software.
  If you use Windows, it's crucial that you visit windowsupdate.com on a regular basis.
• If you have questions about a correspondance from your bank or elsewhere, contact them but do not trust anything from the suspicious email.
  Do not click on links in the email but rather type in the bank's address. Or simply give them a ring. Phones haven't ceased to exist, you know.
• Report suspicious emails or calls to the FTC
  1-800-IDTHEFT or www.consumer.gov/idtheft/.