But just how secure is the personal information that you enter online or access on a website? The number of internet scam stories that have hit the headlines in recent times has done little to promote peace of mind.
So are we right to be wary of entering personal details online, or has the threat of internet fraud been greatly exaggerated?
We've brought together information and practical advice on avoiding fraud and the misuse of your personal details - it's safe to rely on Computeractive.
Spam scams
Most of us will have been unlucky enough to receive spam emails in our inboxes at some point. These unwanted messages can be both irritating and, at times, offensive but recent headlines have told of more sinister scams that use email to try to relieve recipients of the contents of their bank accounts.
Over the summer, many customers of financial services provider Citibank received an email claiming to have been sent from the bank and warning that the recipient's account would be suspended unless they accepted new terms and conditions.
A link in the email message led to a bogus website that prompted Citibank customers to enter their bank details.
Citibank warned its customers of the hoax but a second wave of spam emails was then sent out, telling Citibank customers that they needed to sign up to Citibank's online money transferral service, linking to yet another bogus site with another request for account details.
Many of the high-street banks, including Lloyds TSB and Barclays, that offer online banking to customers have been hit by similar scams, prompting many online banks to post notices on their websites warning customers of the danger of these hoax emails.
Lloyds TSB advises visitors to its site that it will never send out emails asking for confidential information or security details, and has set up a helpline for customers who fear they may have divulged their banking details in this way.
It is important to bear in mind, however, that these scams do not prove that internet banking in itself is unsafe. In reality, safeguarding your personal details online requires a similar approach to protecting your details in the offline, real world.
Most of us will destroy credit and debit card receipts that feature signatures and account details to avoid fraud. Would you even entertain the idea of giving out your banking details over the phone if you received an unsolicited call purporting to be from your bank?
Any email you receive asking for this information should be regarded in the same light. If in doubt, call your bank first.
Would you credit it?
It's one thing spotting an email hoax but what about using your credit or debit card online? Although most of us wouldn't think twice about handing over a credit or debit card in a restaurant, or even giving details over the phone if we were booking tickets or buying something by mail order, many people remain sceptical about the security of entering financial details online.
Provided that the website from which you are buying has a genuine security certificate, which will be prominently displayed somewhere on the site, buying online is a very secure method of making a purchase.
Look for a security logo from Verisign or BT Trust Services indicating that the site has been awarded a security certificate. This shows that the site uses encryption, which scrambles your credit or debit card details so that no one else can read them, to keep your details safe.
When you make a payment on a secure site, you should also check for a closed padlock symbol that should appear at the bottom of your web browser and indicates that a secure connection is being used. You can double-click on this for more information about the site's security certificate if you wish.
All major online retailers such as Amazon, Dabs and Tesco employ high-level security technology to prevent anyone intercepting your credit or debit card details when you enter them on screen and submit them for payment.
Amazon is so confident about the security of its site and payment processing systems that you'll find a notice on its website stating: "None of our customers has reported fraudulent use of a credit or debit card as a result of purchases made with us.
"We are so confident about the transaction security we offer on our site that we back every purchase with a security guarantee."
When buying a product or service online you might also want to check that the website you are buying from gives real-world contact details such as a full postal address and telephone number.
It's also an idea to look for a security policy, which will usually mention a secure server to process your transaction and the use of encryption.
Safety guaranteed
If you're buying an item from eBay and want reassurance that the vendor isn't going to make off with your cash without sending you your goods, check to see if the goods you are buying are covered by a guarantee from an online payment service such as WorldPay or PayPal.
Such organisations take payments for online purchases and help to safeguard against fraud, using methods such as address verification service and by asking for the three-digit security code found on the reverse of your card next to your signature.
WorldPay is also currently working on introducing passwords to sites where WorldPay is the payment mechanism so data stolen from that card would be far harder to use.
If you're still wary of entering your credit or debit card details online, it's also worth checking to see whether you are covered against fraud by your credit or debit card issuer. Some banks, such as the Halifax, guarantee to refund you if you are the victim of online fraud.
If you are at all suspicious that someone may be using your card details or you have received an email asking you to disclose financial details of account passwords, contact the organisation concerned, such as your bank, or the organisation the email claims to be from as soon as possible.
You can also contact a local branch of the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit through the Police on 0845 606 0606 to report any incidence of online fraud.
This police unit has been set up specifically to deal with serious and organised crime such as internet fraud, hacking and extortion and works closely with financial organisations that have suffered email scams.
It goes without saying that you should be suspicious of any email you receive that refers to a payment, transaction or account you know nothing about.
Similarly, if an email directs you to a website where you are prompted to enter any personal or financial details you should not do so and you should also avoid emailing your credit or debit card details to make a payment.
Although entering your credit or debit card details on a secure website is a safe way of making a transaction, email messages are not secure and can be intercepted.
Up close and personal
Online retailers and banks offering services on the internet go to great lengths to protect your financial details online but it's a trickier matter to keep your personal details, and in particular your contact details, out of the hands of anybody that may abuse them.
There can be very few web users with an email address who will not at some point have received unsolicited junk email, also known as spam.
The sender of these junk emails will probably have managed to get their hands on your email address when you signed up to a few harmless internet groups or websites.
One solution to this problem is to sign up for a free email account with an organisation such as Hotmail or Yahoo and to use this email address exclusively for signing up for or registering with internet services.
Alternatively, services such as that offered by Spam Hole offer temporary email accounts designed to be used specifically for this purpose. Once created, the account is active for between two and 72 hours, then any further messages sent to it are instantly deleted.
There are some measures in place to protect your contact information. The storage and use of your personal details is covered by the Data Protection Act 1998, but this only applies to companies in the UK.
In brief, the Act states that any information a company holds on you should be relevant to its intended purpose (an email address for a email shot, for example), accurate, not kept longer than necessary and - most importantly - not transferred to organisations in countries without adequate data protection legislation.
It's worth bearing in mind, though, that the government's Data Protection website warns that, in spite of legislation in place in this country, any personal details such as your name and email address that you enter on a website may be made available anywhere in the world.
Again, using a temporary email address is a good solution and before submitting any personal details on a website, look for a privacy or security policy explaining what the organisation will do with your details and what laws it adheres to.
The real risk
Keeping your details, both personal and financial, safe online requires a little vigilance but in the main it is no more dangerous than filling out a company's marketing questionnaire or making a transaction in the offline world.
If you take the time to check that any website you are using is reputable and secure and you know how to spot a scam in the real world, then the internet is unlikely to pose any problems and will remain a safe place to surf.
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