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While many of us have heard about the rise of identity theft over the last few years, we may not realize how wide spread it truly is. Dangers are lurking all across the web and now even fun sites like MySpace have become home to individuals looking to phish your personal and confidential information.

In case you haven't heard of the term 'phishing'; it basically entails a practice of sending out fake e-mails to individuals under the guise of a well-known company such as a bank or even eBay. When the individual who receives the e-mail clicks on the link contained in the e-mail, they will be immediately taken to a website that will then request that they enter details of their account. In some cases, the fake website will even rip off the graphics and logs of the company they are targeted so that they look more authentic.

Although there are usually a couple of clues that the website isn't who it portends to be, most users unfortunately do not notice. One tip off is that the website is never hosted at the internet address where it should be. For example, if the website is portraying itself as eBay, the address is something besides www.ebay.com. Even so, many users fail to notice and go ahead and enter all of their account details. Before they know it, their identity can be stolen and their accounts wiped out. In addition, the spammer who instigated the scam will have access to your username and password along with the ability to create all sorts of havoc in your life.

Problems with this practice are rising at a steady rate. One of the ways this is accomplished is by creating a fake MySpace login page along with a free webpage in an attempt to trick other users into giving up confidential information. Other similar attempts include posting bulletins from within your own account. If you have noticed bulletins showing up on your account or comments sent to your friends that you are certain you never sent, this is a good indication that someone besides you has access to your account.

In an attempt to correct this problem, many people have reverted to changing their password when they notice someone else using their MySpace account. Unfortunately, there have been reports that this type of problem continues even after they have changed their password. One reason for this could be that your password hint is fairly easy to guess. In other cases, the problem could be continuing due to the perpetrator having access to your e-mail account. As a result they naturally receive your new password each time you change it. Therefore, changing your password isn't locking them out of your account at all. One way to address this is to make sure that you never have the same password for your e-mail address and MySpace account. Make sure they are completely different.

Roboform is also an excellent way to manage your passwords and save you time as well. Just a few of the features Roboform boasts include the ability to memorize your passwords and log you in automatically, fill out long registration forms with one click, encrypt your passwords for complete security, generate random passwords that cannot be guessed by hackers and filling passwords only on matching web sites.

Given the rise of identity theft and phishing, it is imperative that we all pay attention to ways in which we can protect our confidential information. Using a tool like Roboform not only saves time but also puts control of your confidential information back in your hands-right where it belongs.