Identity theft affects many Australians each and every year, and if your identity is stolen it can have a significant emotional and financial impact on you and your family.

What is identity theft?

Identity theft is the fraudulent practice of someone using your name and other personal information in order to obtain credit, loans, or other financial gain.

Warning signs

There are a few warning signs that you have been a victim of identity theft:

• You get an email, SMS or phone call out of the blue asking to “validate” or…

Free public wifi is readily available and very popular these days, but there are some dangers involved in using it. We take a look at those dangers, the potential costs to you and your privacy, and what you can do to mitigate any potential threats.

The situation

More and more businesses are offering free wifi as a way to entice customers – McDonalds offers it in most of their restaurants, food courts are starting to offer it, even small corner cafes are making it available to their customers.

And in towns and cities throughout Australia, some councils are offering…

The digital world is becoming a great deal more important in our lives each day.

From banking to shopping to being social, we seem to be doing much more than we used to online.

With all the benefits this brings, it also brings some dangers. Identify theft, hijacked social accounts, and stolen credit card details are all possibilities.

But there are some simple measures you can take to mitigate the dangers…

Protecting your money has become very important as more and more of our lives go online and, more recently, on our mobile. But there are ways you can easily protect yourself and your money, and most are just about being aware and exercising a little common sense.

Check your statements or, more simply, regularly check your accounts using online banking, making sure there aren’t any unknown purchases or withdraws;