While encryption techniques that scramble the data are available, it s often kept on a computer in plain text one step away from the Internet. While that s more convenient, experts agree it s a bad idea. My advice is, if nothing else, don t store the data where it physically has access to the Web, said Wesley Wilhelm, a fraud prevention consultant at the Internet Fraud Prevention Advisory Council. Take them off every night and make a sneakernet run. As for consumers, there isn t much they can do to ascertain how well a Web site is guarding their personal information.
Some experts suggest using only one card online, and religiously checking credit card bills.