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Recently, my personal credit card account number was compromised. Is this going to stop me from continuing online transactions? No way. This article is about basic credit card security and what to do if you find your number is hacked. It also contains information about identity theft.

In my case, while an unwanted party gained my account details, no transactions were made. The bank's fraud department were understandably hesitant in releasing details of the compromise, but very quick to take action. I'm not even sure that the offending party was an online merchant, freelance hacker or traditional retailer.

The media have fed the netizen community paranoia levels regarding online transactions. Yes, credit card numbers are stolen and yes, victims can suffer financial loss. But submitting your credit card details online is no different than handing your card to a shop assistant or waiter you've never met before. There is little to stop merchants we do business with face to face from gathering detailed lists of account numbers to sell on the black market.

The media have also fed us xenophobic cold war attitudes of years past by focusing on certain countries. Credit card number hackers are "Russian", true. They are also American, Australian, and English. Every country in the world has a community of identity thieves, scammers and spammers.

If you own a credit card and don't carry out online transactions, it doesn't mean you are safe. Remember that most of the world's information systems are now connected somehow to the Internet. All your vital details are available online, regardless of whether or not you are an Internet user. It's all down to usernames, passwords and IP addresses. If you have ever collected a welfare payment, taken out an insurance policy or registered a vehicle, congratulations! You are part of the World Wide Web, like it or not. You can now emerge from your identity fortress. Resistance is futile. Now let's deal with reality.

Identity theft and credit card fraud is on the increase. How do we netizens and webmasters best protect ourselves and our clients? It boils down to a number of simple guidelines.

Passwords - Know that little window that pops up and politely asks you if you want your computer to remember certain user names and passwords? Don't tick it! Most passwords are stored in a special file on a Windows 95/98/ME system, and every half-baked, pimply would-be hacker knows where to find it. If you are not using a firewall, it is pretty easy for these people to snatch your password file and crack it at their leisure, using freely available programs.

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