"Go with reputable companies you've heard of," says Jim Stickley, co-founder and vice president of engineering at TraceSecurity, a company that works with financial institutions to better their network security systems to deter identity thieves.

Stickley, who knows firsthand how easily sensitive information is stolen, says that if a deal sounds too good to be true -- say, $20 for that new iPod Nano -- it probably is. What's worse, it's probably an attempt to trick you into giving out personal information.

At MSN.

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