The most infamous one at moment is so a called 'phishing' scam. In a nutshell it looks like this:

You get an email that looks like it was sent from your bank. They ask you to log in to your online account and verify some of your details. For your convenience, there is a link included right in email. All you have to do is click on it an log in. Don't ever!

The moment you click on that link and log in, scam artists have your login ID and password recorded. This will enable them to log in to your account and within hours, or days, your account will be cleaned out!.

There are two common-sense approaches to deal with this.

First, you have to realise that your bank already has all details they need to operate your online account. If they didn't, you wouldn't be able to open it in first place. So, you can most likely quite safely delete email and forget about it.

Secondly, if you have any doubts as to authenticity of email, you can get bank's phone number from your local phone book and give them a call. Tell them about email you received and ask if they tried to contact you. I bet they are going to be as surprised as you are.

And just remember: Whatever you do, never, ever, log in to your bank account, or any other sensitive account for that matter, right from an email. You already have login link somewhere in your records. If not, go to bank's main page and look for an online login page.

What we covered today is just one of things you need to do in order to protect yourself from identity fraud. There are many more. Lack of space doesn't allow me to cover more in this short article. You will find many more tips at http://www.credit-report-a-z.com/articles.html. They are free to implement and could save you lots of time and money.

Andrew Obremski is the owner of www.credit-report-a-z.com, a web site devoted to information about credit reports, identity theft, debt, and other personal finance topics.

Reputable companies will have contact details. Do they have a refund policy?

Offline stores have a refund policy and you go into store, physically select product and are then allowed to return it for whatever reason. If a refund policy is important in offline stores, it’s twice as important for online stores.

The internet in convenience surpasses offline world when it comes to shopping - but one thing it can’t match is that offline you can physically touch product. Therefore a refund policy of 30 days is great, more is better. No refund policy and I would stay away. Do they send you some sort of confirmation when you place your order?

When you place your order what you need is something to tell you they have receive it, a receipt if you like.

A reputable company will either issue you one via email or display a new page of their website where they thank you and tell you order went through okay and your product is on its way. When do they deliver?

What times do they deliver during day? Do they deliver on weekends? Can you choose a time to have your gift delivered? Will it be delivered personally to recipient intended or will courier leave it outside their door? How will your gift arrive?

If its flowers, will it come with a vase or in a nice box or wrapped? Will your bouquet contain flower care instructions? How about flower food to make your flowers last longer?

If you’ve ordered another gift product, will they wrap it? In what kind of material will they deliver it? Do they tell you these things on their website? How long have they been in business?

This may not mean too much. There are companies that start off and surpass all others. But perhaps for your peace of mind, you may want to use an online store that has been in business for some years. To check history of company is easy.

You can go to networksolutions.com and click on "whois" on top bar. You will be taken to a page where you can enter web address of online store you want to check and you will receive relevant information. Is online store’s site easy to use?

Is navigating easy? Is looking for products easy? Do their graphics download in a reasonable time? A sure sign of an amateur sight is if they have their website cluttered with information. Have they gotten any bad reviews?

A reputable company isn’t necessary one that hasn’t any bad reviews to its name. It’s virtually impossible to please everyone. There have been companies I have bought from and absolutely loved. So it surprises me sometimes when I stumble on a bad review about their products or even bad comments about them.

So when is a bad comment about a company worth considering? I take note of reviews where writer complains of: *not receiving product *not receiving a refund *not having their emails answered

If you want to see what kind of reviews a company may have, click on alexa.com. When you get to website, type in address of store you want to check out. This will also show you how long company has been in business. Online shopping is fun. Take a little care and make it an experience! Happy shopping! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © Gina Stathopoulos & Nick Vernon

Looking for a gift? Let Gina and Nick show you what we buy for friends/family and each other. At our site you will find popular gifts, gift information and stories from our readers. Come have a look http://www.we-recommend.com