Identity thieves use real-looking but phony "phishing" sites to lure you into giving out your personal information. But thanks to reports from millions of AOL users and several Internet-monitoring firms, you can avoid these online scammers.

When you sign on with your screen name to the AOL® service, you get automatic protection from known spyware and phishing Web sites. AOL will automatically inform you if the Web address you are trying to access is known to distribute harmful or malicious software that could steal your personal information or harm your PC.