You should consider this coverage if you ... - DECA Ontario



Analyse money-handling decisions that young adults commonly faceYoung adults commonly face the financial challenges of: Establishing financial independence Earning enough income to pay for daily living expenses. Obtaining insurance (i.e. disability, life, medical) Paying off student debt Saving for a down payment on a home Paying off or saving for a carAnalyze how a credit score affects credit worthiness and the cost of credit. Your credit report is the sole source of information for your credit score - a number that lenders sometimes use instead of or in addition to your credit report. Credit score is a three-digit number that sort of grades your credit report. High credit scores (max 850) show that you have positive information on your credit report while low credit scores (300 – 550) indicate the presence of negative information.Many credit decisions can be made within minutes when a borrower’s credit score is above a lender's "score cut off." Scoring also allows retail stores, Internet sites and other lenders to make "instant credit" decisions. When you have high credit score you are: more credit worthy, viewed as a good payer and a low-risk borrower, more likely to get approved quickly, able to borrow at lower rates of interest, and, are able to move forward unhindered with your plans or purchases.Analyze the monetary and non-monetary value of employee benefits in addition to wages and salaries.Monetary value benefits are those where the company pays for or reimburses the employee for out-of-pocket payments. Any payments made by the company on behalf of the employee are taxable benefits and are added to the employee’s net earnings for income tax purposes. Non-monetary benefits are those that the employee gets in time or gifts such as access to a company car, in-house child care, in-house gym access, or flexible working hours.Benefits can be worth up to 35-40% of a person’s base pay. Employees can sign up only for the benefits of interest/use to themselves. Assess how spending priorities reflect goals and values.Setting financial goals is a thoughtful way to align spending so those goals can be achieved. Clear goals will help a person deny spending on themselves today in order to have something they want later. A person will be more satisfied in general if money is being spent on personal goals and values.Assess whether a specific purchase justifies the use of creditTo use credit responsibly, you must develop the habit of paying your balance in full when it’s due. This means, when making a purchase, you should assess whether or not you will be able to make full payment within the stipulated timeframe. If not, you will carry a balance that will be charged interest thereby increasing the total cost of the item to you.Categorize the kinds of expenses that health insurance can cover. The types of preventive services you need depend on your gender, age, medical history, and family history. Some preventive services include?blood?pressure screening,?cervical cancer?screening,?HIV?screening, and immunizations.Outpatient care—the kind you get without being admitted to a hospitalEmergency services and trips to the emergency room Treatment in the hospital for inpatient careMental health and substance use disorder services including behavioural health treatment, counseling, and psychotherapyServices and devices to help you recover if you are injured, or have a disability or chronic condition. This includes physical and occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, psychiatric rehabilitation, and more.Lab tests and servicesPreventive and wellness services including?counseling, screenings, and vaccines to keep you healthy?and care for managing a chronic disease.Pediatric services: This includes dental care and vision care for kidsHospitalization (such as surgery)Maternity and newborn care (care before and after your baby is born)Prescription drugsCompare the benefits of financial responsibility with the consequences of financial irresponsibility.Definition: Financial responsibility is the action one takes to make decisions for today as well as plan for the future while avoiding overspending or “throwing money away”. The more you save now, the more you will have for your long term goals. The more you invest, the greater the potential for your money to grow over time. Keeping your goals for your future in mind will not only set you up to achieve them, but also secure you against any unforeseen life events. In these cases, having an emergency fund saved to supplement income or cover unexpected expenses helpful. Financial irresponsibility is short sited spending on what you want and need in the moment, but may have consequences for your future. Goals such as buying a house or paying for a new car are hard to achieve in a short period of time. In addition, it is important to establish good credit as a young adult. Being financially irresponsible by owning too many credit cards, not paying debt, or having too much debt can impact your ability to be trusted with loans in the future.Consider how personal finance decisions might affect others.Our decisions might disappoint others. Friends might be disappointed that you will not be joining them on some adventure they have planned. Parents might be disappointed that you have put pleasure before responsibility. A future life partner may be disappointed that you owe more on student loans than you needed to owe. Your personal finance decision now will also affect your future self. Compare the happiness you will get from the trip now versus the happiness you will get in the future from saving the money. Do you value the worth of this money more in the future or now?Describe the consequences of becoming a victim of identity theftImplications of being a Victim of Identity TheftYou may risk your professional reputation, experience personal financial loss and even risk your own personal safety if you become a victim of identity theft all while dealing with the emotional stress from feeling violated and having to handle the consequences of the identity theft.Personal financial loss –Victims of identity theft might experience significant personal financial losses and difficulty obtaining credit or restoring their personal financial reputation. Identity thieves may use personal information to: gain access to bank accounts and open new bank accounts or transfer bank balances; apply for loans, credit cards or goods and services; make purchases ; engage in criminal activities; even obtaining passports or using false identities to receive government benefits. Victims may find it very difficult in the future to obtain financing to purchase a large ticket items such as cars or housing or obtain loans due to their poor credit history resulting from these fraudulent activities. It takes a long time to clear one’s financial reputation.Personal safety – Identity theft may lead to compromised personal security and safety. For instance, revealing that you will be away from home, especially if your address is posted in your profile, increases the risk that your home might be burglarized. You may also risk the safety of your family by posting photos and personal details. For example, if an identity thief was able to collect enough information about your family, such as your child’s name, school, activities, or details about the parents, they might be able to impersonate as a parent or caregiver and lure the child into a dangerous situation. Emotional impact - The process of cleaning up the aftermath of identity theft can lead to feelings of powerlessness, embarrassment, and frustration. It is not uncommon to feel like you have been violated, and your privacy has been taken away from you. This emotional stress can has as significant a toll on your mental health as the financial stress from the identity theft. Business breach and loss of professional reputation – Identity thieves could gain access to business information that can have serious consequences. Such as disclosing information about customers, intellectual property, human resource issues, mergers and acquisitions, or other company activities could result in liability or bad publicity, or could reveal information that is useful to competitors.Discuss how non-income factors such as child-care options, cost of living and work conditions can influence job choice.Lower wage earners are going to have fewer choices for housing and child care. Their working conditions will also be less likely to have regular 9 – 5 hours. Discuss the components of a personal spending plan, including income, planned saving and expenses.Have goals – to focus your earnings, spending and savingHave a budget –account for all your income, expenses, and savings; identify necessary expenses and discretionary onesHave an emergency fund – have a nest-egg put aside for emergenciesReview often – to realign spending with goalsExplain approaches to real estate lending Explain how debit cards differ from credit cardsCredit cards?assign you a credit limit, an amount that you can spend on the card at any time. By definition, this is credit…not cash you actually have. When you pay with a credit card, the bank pays the merchant immediately, but you don’t have to pay the bank until the end of the month or over the course of many months (in which case the card charges you interest). Debit cards?work like instant checks. When you pay with a debit card, the payment network immediately deducts the purchase amount from your bank account. If you don’t have the money for the purchase in the bank, you can’t spend it using a debit card. (Unless you have?overdraft “protection”, in which case the bank will let the transaction go through but charge you a fee for overdrawing the account).Explain how interest rate, compounding frequency and loan length affect the cost of using creditCompound interest is interest calculated on the initial principal and also on the accumulated interest of previous periods of a deposit or loan.?Compound?interest can be thought of as “interest on interest,” and will make a deposit or loan grow at a faster rate than simple interest, which is interest calculated only on the principal amount. The rate at which compound interest?accrues?depends on the frequency of compounding; the higher the number of?compounding?periods, the greater the compound interest. Thus, the amount of compound interest accrued on $100 compounded at 10% annually will be lower than that on $100 compounded at 5% semi-annually over the same time period. The length of the loan also impacts the cost of using credit. The longer the length of the loan, the smaller the monthly payments, but the total interest charge will increase because it will be compounded over a longer period of time.Explain the concept of identity theft in relation to social networking sites Definition - Social media utilizes internet or cellular phone based applications and tools to share information among people and connect users to new people through people they may already know. These include popular social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. The purpose of some networking sites may be purely social, while others may focus on establishing business connections.Although the features of social networking sites differ, they all allow users to provide personal information about themselves and offer some type of communication mechanism (forums, chat rooms, email, instant messenger) that enables users to connect with others.Definition - Identity theft is crime in which an imposter obtains key personal information to commit fraud. They may use key pieces of information such as social insurance number, credit card number, date of birth, driver’s license or other information for their own personal gain (e.g. obtain credit card and bank accounts, redirect mail, establish cellular phone service, rent vehicles, equipment, or accommodation or secure employment). Identity theft via social media can occur through a data breach, computer virus, phishing or email scams. Security Threats posed by Social MediaSocial media sites rely on connections and communication, so users are encouraged to provide a certain amount of personal information. When deciding how much information to post and reveal, users may not exercise the same amount of caution as they would when meeting someone in person becausethe Internet provides a sense of anonymitythe lack of physical interaction provides a false sense of securitythey tailor the information for their friends to read, forgetting that others may see itWhen sharing information online users need to understand the potential risks and be wary of what they share and with whom.Identity thieves are drawn to social media sites because of the accessibility and amount of personal information that's available to the public. Using information gathered through social media sites about your location, hobbies, interests, and friends, an identity thief may be able to gather enough personal information to assume your identity or the identity of one of your contacts. Even just a few personal details may provide identity thieves with enough information to guess answers to security or password reminder questions for email, credit card, or bank accounts. Explain the need to save and investAll individuals are responsible for their own wealth. Savings normally refers to shorter term, safer investments. Investing denotes longer term, more diverse portfolios of products of varying risk. Savings are can be put into the safest places or products which often allow you access to your money at any time. Some examples may be given like traditional savings account, chequing accounts and certificates of deposits. If money is invested in a locked-in account and cannot be withdrawn until a certain date, the interest rate will be higher. When you invest, you have a greater chance of losing your money you invest in because they are not insured. However; they typically earn a higher rate of return and can grant the potential for greater rewards and wealth. The riskier an investment is, the more interest a company has to offer in order to get people to part with their money.Explain the purpose of long-term care insuranceLong-term care insurance?can?cover?home?care, assisted living, adult daycare, respite?care, hospice?care, nursing home, Alzheimer's facilities, and home modification to accommodate disabilities. If home?care coverage?is purchased,long-term care insurance?can?pay for?home?care, often from the first day it is needed.You should consider this coverage if you want to:have retirement income to last for your lifetime if your health deteriorates and government programs are insufficient to meet your needshave the financial resources to help you choose the type and level of care that’s right for you if you have an accident or need substantial care later in life as you ageprotect your wealth and legacy from being eroded by the cost of carebring care into your home so that you do not need to downsize or move to a facility right awaylessen the burden on care-givers and support your family financially if you are going to live with them if you need careManage your care and expenses if you have an unexpected severe accident, at any age, that results in your needing substantial assistance from a family member or care-giverFactors to consider:Your age and health:?Policies cost less if purchased when you're younger and in good health. If you're older or have a serious health condition, you may not be able to get coverage?— and if you do, you may have to spend considerably more.The premiums:?Will you be able to pay the policy's premiums?— now and in the future?— without breaking your budget? Premiums often increase over time, and your income may go down. If you find yourself unable to afford the premiums, you could lose all the money you've invested in a policy.Your income:?If you have difficulty paying your bills now or are concerned about paying them in the years ahead, when you may have fewer assets, spending money on a very basic long-term care policy might make the most sense. Your support system:?You may have family and friends who can provide some of your long-term care should you need it. Think about whether or not you would want their help and how much you can reasonably expect from them.Your savings and investments:?A financial adviser — or a lawyer who specializes in elder law or estate planning?— can advise you about ways to save for future long-term care expenses and the pros and cons of purchasing long-term care insurance.Policies may cover the following care arrangements:Nursing home:?A facility that provides a full range of skilled health care, rehabilitation care, personal care and daily activities in a 24/7 setting. Find out whether the policy covers more than room-and-board.Assisted living:?A residence with apartment-style units that makes personal care and other individualized services (such as meal delivery) available when needed.Adult day care services:?A program outside the home that provides health, social and other support services in a supervised setting for adults who need some degree of help during the day.Home care:?An agency or individual who performs services, such as bathing, grooming and help with chores and housework.Home modification:?Adaptations, such as installing ramps or grab bars to make your home safer and more accessible.Care coordination:?Services provided by a trained or licensed professional who assists with determining needs, locating services and arranging for care. The policy may also cover the monitoring of care providers.Future service options:?If a new type of long-term care service is developed after you purchase the insurance, some policies have the flexibility to cover the new services. The "future service" option may be available if the policy contains specific language about alternative options.Explain the value of credit reports to borrowers and lenders.Credit scores?and credit reports are used by lenders as one of the main factors in decisions to approve or decline loans, and to charge higher interest rates and fees to higher-risk customers.Lenders value the information contained in the report:For credit cards, your balance, credit limit, account type, account status, and payment history are all included on your credit report. Loan balances, original loan amount, and payment history appear on your credit report.Public records like bankruptcy, foreclosure, repossessions, and tax liens are listed in a separate section of your credit report.Banks check your credit report before approving you for credit cards and loans, including a mortgage or auto loan. Landlords review your credit report to decide whether to rent to you. Some employers check credit reports as part of the application process.Credit reports include a list of businesses that have recently checked your credit history either as a result of an application you made or a promotional screening. These credit checks are known as inquiries. Your version of your credit report will show inquiries from everyone who's pulled your credit report. A lender's version of your credit report only shows the inquiries that were made when you put in some type of application.Borrowers should be aware of what is in their credit report as it represents the ability to borrow money to have assets now and pay for them over time. It's important that the information included is accurate and positive.Your credit report is the sole source of information for your credit score - a number that lenders sometimes use instead of or in addition to your credit report. Credit score is a three-digit number that sort of grades your credit report. High credit scores show that you have positive information on your credit report while low credit scores indicate the presence of negative information.Give examples of employee benefits and explain why they are forms of compensation.Some employee benefits are: health, dental, vision, and life insurance; disability income protection such as AD&D (Accidental Death or Dismemberment), LTD (long-term disability), STD (short-term disability), Bereavement Leave, paid leaves, Sick Leave; investment perks such as matching contributions to RESPs, RRSPs, stock purchase plans, pension contributions; legislated benefits such as vacation pay/time, CPP, EI; additional benefits such as moving expenses, day care, access to a company car, tuition reimbursement, company loans, education funding, recreation memberships, danger pay, isolation pay, no lost-time injuries rewards; alternative working conditions such as flexible hours and working from home.These are forms of compensation because the employer either pays a portion of the benefit, or has arranged a discounted fee to access the benefit. An employer can pay up to 40% more than an employee’s base pay in benefits.Identify (list) entities that have a right to request certain personal financial dataEmployers - may request personal financial data in order to confirm proof of identity, eligibility of employment and to provide banking information to their payroll and human resources departments.Banks and other financial institutions (e.g. investment firms, credit unions, mortgage loans and trust) Insurance companiesRetail companies - if you are applying for a retail credit card or account and/or require financing from the company they have a right to research your financial backgroundIdentify indicators of excessive debtYou routinely spend more than you earn, at the end of the month you do not have enough money for the rent/mortgage.?Your Credit score is declining and shows months of none paymentYou continually go over your spending limit or you use your credit cards as a source of income;You are always borrowing money to make it from one payday to the next, using payday loans on a monthly basis;Your wages have been garnisheed to pay for outstanding debts;You have recently been turned down for credit or a loan.Creditors pressure you for payment, threaten to sue or repossess your car, furniture or television, or hire a collection agency to recover the money for themYou don’t answer your phone as you are afraid it is a creditor.You skip payments on some bills in order to pay others, or use cash advances on one credit card to pay off another.Your credit limit is maxed on most of your cards and you either skip or pay late regularlyInterpret statistical findings The purpose of analysing data is to obtain usable, useful information. To do this, it is important to determine WHAT we want analysed so that the correct data is collected. To find meaning in large amounts of data, data is grouped and summarized, and/or statistically analyzed (mean, median, mode, standards of deviation, frequency distributions, t-tests, regression, ANOVA, etc.)Interpretation is the process of attaching meaning to the collected information and determining the conclusions, significance, and implications of the findings. Patterns and relationships within the data are gleaned. The same data can be interpreted in different ways so to garner other interpretations discuss the data with stakeholders and consider the data from various perspectives. Think beyond the data but don’t stray too far. Focus on outlying data or data that seems to be the exception, as surprising, contradictory or puzzling data can lead to useful insights. Limitations must be disclosed with honesty.Students will reiterate the statistics they feel are pertinent in their analysis. Investigate ways that a negative credit report can affect a consumer’s financial options.A low credit score, or negative credit report, will be due to problems paying when money is due. It could be due to a pattern of missed payments, chronically late payments, bankruptcy, foreclosures, repossessions, long overdue balances, etc. Lenders know that the best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour; the assumption is that if a person did not pay their debts in the past, they will not pay in the future (which may not necessarily be the case).People with low credit ratings are more likely to:Be denied loans, mortgages and other contracted borrowing because they are a non-payment risk. Have higher interest rates than a person with a higher scoreBe required to have a bigger share of the cost of the item (e.g., house downpayment)Have difficulty renting a place to liveNot get security clearance at a jobBe charged higher insurance premiumsHave to buy their cell phone because they don’t qualify for a contractCause stress in close relationshipsWith a limited capacity to borrow, or a high interest cost to borrow, people may not be able to acquire the things they want when they want.Justify reasons to have health insurance.The purpose of?health insurance?is to help you pay for care. It protects you and your family financially in the event of an unexpected serious illness or injury that could be very expensive. The individual must assess whether the benefits of expanding coverage outweigh the costs for added services.Outpatient?care—the kind you get without being admitted to a hospital. ... Treatment in the hospital for inpatient care.Critical Illness Insurance - A critical illness not only has a long-term impact on your life – it also affects your financial and retirement goals.? Additional financial stress is the last thing someone recovering from a major health issue should face – that’s why critical illness insurance is one of the fastest growing sectors of the Canadian insurance market.? If you do get diagnosed with a specified critical illness, your benefit is payable to you as a one-time lump sum payment – helping to alleviate the costs associated with medical treatment and recovery.Hospital Stay Insurance - Illness and accidents can happen without warning.? If you end up spending time in the hospital, you could be faced with unexpected medical costs not covered under your provincial health care plan.? Ambulances, semi-private rooms, and everyday living expenses (baby sitting or housekeeping services, and travel to and from the hospital) often cost more than we expect.? Hospital Stay Insurance provides you with up to $100 per day for each full day of hospitalization.Health & Dental Insurance - While many provincial health plans cover major health costs that could affect the lives of Canadians, they may not cover items like prescription medication, physiotherapy, or dental hygiene.? Without insurance protection, medicine and treatment from a medical or dental professional can become quite expensive.? Supplementary health and dental insurance plans allow you to be sure that you’ll be able to provide for yourself or your family member should they fall ill.Do I need to purchase supplementary health insurance?? That’s ultimately up to you, and depends primarily on your current financial situation.? If you have more than enough money to cover the costs associated with a critical illness, accident, or hospital stay without dipping into your retirement savings, you probably don’t need additional health insurance.?? The majority of Canadians purchase supplementary health insurance as a way to help alleviate potential financial pressure should their life be affected by illness.Predict possible consequences of excessive debtBesides the below financial consequences of excessive debt, you need to consider the personal consequences which include high stress, health issues, self esteem, relationship problems.Limits purchasing power Obviously, spending power with a credit card can be increased, which, to some, is the point of having a credit card. While it does increase spending, if the balance is not paid off eventually the credit card will become more of an expense and less of a supply of extra money. When this tilting point is reached, purchasing power is reduced. Income starts going toward paying interest and paying down the principal. Depending on how much debt you have, this could be a significant reduction in discretionary income. You cannot afford to not make payments on your debt because that will put you in an even worse position next month. If you miss too many payments, you could be foreclosed on or have your car repossessed. Debt can reach a point that it dictates what you do with your paycheck.Limits financial flexibility Changes in your life, your job location, your job, your family all have an effect. If you are in debt excessively, your choices are always limited by the money you owe. Debt can prevent you from improving your life because you won’t be able to take those chances or risks of missing out on the income you already have and depend on.Limits choices At first, it may start as not being able to buy that extra present during the holidays. Then, maybe you have to cut back on how often you go out to eat, but a home cooked meal never hurt anyone. Eventually though, it may escalate to the point that you can’t afford to go out and get the newer car, despite really needing it. You might be bound by not being able to afford to make a large purchase so you repair your older car. Hopefully, it doesn’t break down like you expect it to do. Maybe your debt gets to the point that you have to move to a cheaper area to regain some of the spending capabilities you lost when the bills started piling up. We all want to have the option to get something better. If we get into debt trouble our choices could be made for us.Recommend actions that a borrower could take to reduce or better manage excessive debtEvaluate Your Debts Collect all of your financial documents and print out your free annual credit reports. Use your credit report and debt lists to see exactly where you stand. This is an important step toward debt recovery and one that people are often scared to take. On a piece of paper, write down the balances, interest rates, and monthly amount due for each of your debts. Include your auto loans, personal loans, payday loans, credit cards, and other debts. You should also make note of any annual fees on your credit cards. You don’t need to include your mortgage loan or student loans at this time. These loans have relatively long terms and low APRs so it is better to focus on paying off your other debts first.Look at Your Budget After you have collected the information about your debts, you should take a look at your monthly budget. Write down your monthly income after taxes and subtract your rent/mortgage payment from this amount and other monthly expenses such as childcare, student loan payments, insurance, utilities, and groceries. Once you have subtracted all of your expenses, calculate how much you have left to pay off your debts. If this amount is too small, look for ways to reduce your spending. The more you can pay towards your debts each month, the sooner you will be debt free.Make a Plan Now that you know all about your financial situation, it’s time to create a plan for reducing your debts. Use your information from Step 1 and 2 to fill in the following chart. Subtract your minimum debt payments (Step 1) and monthly expenses (Step 2) from your monthly income after taxes. The remaining amount should be used to pay off the debt with the highest interest rate and the highest balance.?Continue this cycle each month until the debt is paid off and then move on to the next highest rate/balance account. This may seem like an odd process, but it is the fastest way to reduce your debts. During this time, you should not add any new charges to your credit cards. Also, try to increase the amount you pay toward the most expensive debt each month. Track your progress with a chart like this:Start Negotiations While you are starting to follow your repayment plan from Step 3, you should contact your creditors and lenders to see if you can improve the terms on your debts. You may be able to lower your interest rates or negotiate a reduced settlement on some debts by speaking with the customer service department. It is especially easy to negotiate the terms of debts that are charged off (dismissed) by the creditor or in collections already. Also think about moving some of your credit card debts to new accounts with lower interest rates. Moving a balance to a credit card with a 0% introductory rate for 6-12 months can help you save a lot on interest. Just be sure to keep each of your credit card balances below 35% of the credit limits to avoid damaging your credit score. During this time, investigate if consolidating your debts into a personal loan or home equity loan could help too.Follow-Through Your Debt Reduction Plan Do your best to meet your repayment goals each month. It’s okay if the amount you put toward your most expensive debt each month varies. Just try to consistently put as much as possible toward your debts. Signing up for an automated payment system and keeping a chart of your progress on the refrigerator can help you stay on track. When you reach major milestones, be sure to celebrate your success. Before you know it, you’ll be debt free!Recommend ways to use social media safelyLimit the amount of personal information you post - Do not post information that would make you vulnerable, such as your address or information about your schedule or routine. If your connections post information about you, make sure the combined information is not more than you would be comfortable with strangers knowing. Also be considerate when posting information, including photos, about your connections.Remember that the Internet is a public resource - Only post information you are comfortable with anyone seeing. This includes information and photos in your profile and in blogs and other forums. Also, once you post information online, you can't retract it. Even if you remove the information from a site, saved or cached versions may still exist on other people's machines.Be wary of strangers - The Internet makes it easy for people to misrepresent their identities and motives. Consider limiting the people who are allowed to contact you on these sites. If you interact with people you do not know, be cautious about the amount of information you reveal or agreeing to meet them in person.Be skeptical - Don't believe everything you read online. People may post false or misleading information about various topics, including their own identities. This is not necessarily done with malicious intent; it could be unintentional, an exaggeration, or a joke. Take appropriate precautions, though, and try to verify the authenticity of any information before taking any action.Evaluate your settings - Take advantage of a site's privacy settings. The default settings for some sites may allow anyone to see your profile, but you can customize your settings to restrict access to only certain people. There is still a risk that private information could be exposed despite these restrictions, so don't post anything that you wouldn't want the public to see. Sites may change their options periodically, so review your security and privacy settings regularly to make sure that your choices are still appropriate.Be wary of third-party applications - Third-party applications may provide entertainment or functionality, but use caution when deciding which applications to enable. Avoid applications that seem suspicious, and modify your settings to limit the amount of information the applications can access.Use strong passwords - Protect your account with passwords that cannot easily be guessed. If your password is compromised, someone else may be able to access your account and pretend to be you.Check privacy policies - Some sites may share information such as email addresses or user preferences with other companies. This may lead to an increase in spam. Also, try to locate the policy for handling referrals to make sure that you do not unintentionally sign your friends up for spam. Some sites will continue to send email messages to anyone you refer until they join.Keep software, particularly your web browser, up to date - Install software updates so that attackers cannot take advantage of known problems or vulnerabilities. Many operating systems offer automatic updates. If this option is available, you should enable it.Use and maintain anti-virus software - Anti-virus software helps protect your computer against known viruses, so you may be able to detect and remove the virus before it can do any damage. Because attackers are continually writing new viruses, it is important to keep your definitions up to date. ................
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