Young adults are very trusting people, generally speaking. Their short lives haven’t given them an opportunity for such things like identity theft or other serious problems. However, in a world dominated by social media, personal information is much more available than in times past. Unfortunately, many young adult’s identity has been stolen due to unprotected websites.

It is important to be cautious about what information you provide to Web sites and  to make sure your information is going to a trusted source.

Don’t ruin your credit

Be careful about typing your social security or credit card numbers on websites that do not have a seal of trusted source or an “s” after the “http” in the site’s URL. In this economy, having great credit is very important. Banks are pickier about who they lend money to. Even just a small negative point on your credit can ruin your chance of getting a credit card, car loan or a mortgage.

Of course, if you plan on frequently spending money online, you should invest in identity theft insurance. Identity theft is a very common problem, though many people don’t believe that it will happen to them. People who do not invest in identity theft insurance should only use cash for their purchases. Even a purchase at a trusted grocery store can lead to identity theft.

One type of e-commerce site that every customer should stay away from is a site that sells extremely inexpensive products. Often times these site owners do ship the inexpensive items to you, but the site is a mock site that allows the owner to steal your information. If the prices seem too good to be true, they probably are, and you should perform a “whois” search on the website.

It can place you in danger of predators

Often times, social media sites and free advertisement sites like Craigslist open the door for predators to enter your world. This is a scary truth that has made its way to many news sources. It is not a secret that predators use these sites as a way to connect with many women and children and lure them into a trap.

Never converse with complete strangers online. Even if there are mutual friends involved, it’s important to use caution and report people saying or asking inappropriate and personal questions.

You should always be cautious of your online activity. Though you may think you can trust strangers, you should not. For every trusting person in the world, there are five others you should not trust. Take every precaution to guard your online identity.