Identity thieves work hard to gain access to your accounts and your money. One easy way to thwart a number of possible schemes is to always manually type in the web address of your bank or financial institution. Never go to a website by clicking a link in an email or on another web-based form. The link you click may take you to a website designed to look like the one you wanted to visit – and if you enter personal information, the identity thieves can use that information to access your real accounts.

It may seem like a hassle, but always manually type in sensitive Web addresses. The few extra seconds you spend typing can help you avoid the time and cost of identity theft.