Since security is one of my biggest concerns, this question is great. Fortunately, the mainstream web browsers make it easy to detect scam and phishing websites. There are also some plugins that can be installed to assist in detected phishing sites. Phishing websites are sites that look like your bank, Paypal, Ebay, or another financial based website but your username and password is sent to a criminal. See this Wikipedia entry on phishing.
Mozilla Firefox 2 has phishing protection built in. Firefox 2 downloads a list of phishing websites automatically and on a regular basis. If you browse to one of these sites, the browser warns you and steers you away from them. More details are available here.
Microsoft Internet Explorer version 7 has something similar. The browser downloads a list automatically and warns you if you visit one of these websites. Unfortunately, it isn’t included or enabled by default. This Microsoft website explains how to get it.
Knowing when you’re going to a bad site it good. But how do you know if your information, like bank account or credit card numbers, is being encrypted? The best way to tell is by a little padlock image either in the status bar at the bottom of the browser, or in the address bar on the right hand side. The position varies by browser but the image is nearly always the same. Another way to tell is by looking at the actual web address. While http:// is the normal beginning of a website address, secure websites should start with https://. Make sure that it’s there BEFORE you type in your password. If you don’t see the ’s’ with the http, try adding it yourself and hitting enter. If you get back to the same page, it should now be secured.
Remember to trust your instincts, too. If you think that the site looks a little shady, try googling the address. Often if the site is bad news, the Google results will reflect complaints, reports, or warnings.
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