The one thing celebrities hope will never, ever be made public? Not talking about sex tapes here, but social security numbers. According to TMZ, an unnamed website posted SSNs, mortgage amounts, credit card info, car loans, banking account numbers, and more for as many as 12 celebrities and political figures, including Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Beyonce, Jay-Z, and Ashton Kutcher.

Of course, you don’t have to be a star or a politician to have your personal information hijacked. In 2012, identity theft topped the list of complaints received by the Federal Trade Commission—and it was the 13th year that identity theft nabbed the No. 1 spot. Lisa Schifferle, an attorney in the Federal Trade Commission’s division of privacy and identity protection, offers these tips to help you keep your private info under wraps:

Watch where you shop
Small online retailers may have cute goods, but be careful where you whip out your credit card online. You should only transfer personal or financial details over secure sites, which you can identify by a lock symbol that appears to the left or right of the URL, or by the fact that its address starts with “https” (as opposed to just “http”). The same goes for sites that ask you to give out bank or medical info (since health insurance can be stolen, too, says Schifferle). If the site isn’t secure, don’t give out your deets.

Beware of wifi
It’s not enough for the site to have a secure connection—you have to have one, too. Never share private information while using a public wireless network, like at a coffee shop or hotel (even if you have to log in to use it). When you’re at home, it’s safer to plug into a wall than to use wifi. If you are hooked up wirelessly, make sure to use a router with WPA2 encryption (the highest level available), to password protect your network, and to name your router (hackers can find routers more easily when they still have their default names). That said, it shouldn’t be your last name, either. “Change it to something unique that only you would know,” says Schifferle.

Avoid mobile banking
Many banks have smartphone apps now, but it’s not a good idea to use them for more than finding the closest ATM. While logging into your account through a mobile network is safer than through a public wifi network, Schifferle says it’s even more secure to log on through an internet connection you know is protected.

Update your anti-virus and anti-malware software
If you can’t remember the last time you checked out your security programs, open them up to make sure everything’s in order. “Even if you have a secure connection, someone could get in if these aren’t up-to-date,” says Schifferle. If you’re installing new software onto your computer, set it to update regularly or to alert you when it needs to be manually updated.

Become a password pro
You probably already know that passwords should be fairly long (the FTC recommends 10 to 12 characters); a mix of letters, numbers and special characters; different for every account; hard to guess; and changed regularly (about every 60 to 90 days). What you may not: Using any kind of program to store or keep track of your passwords is a bad idea. “Keep your passwords in a secure place out of plain sight, and don’t share them on the phone or by text or email,” says Schifferle. Don’t prompt your computer to save them on each site, either. While it may be annoying to type in your password every time you log onto Facebook or your credit card account, it’s not nearly as annoying as dealing with identity theft if your laptop gets stolen.

Keep an eye out for phishers
Even an e-mail that seems like it’s coming from a close friend or family member could be a scam. “A lot of us have probably gotten e-mails saying that a friend is stuck in London and needs  money in order to get back or they’re in the hospital and they need money or they were robbed and everything was taken so they need money,” says Schifferle. “It’s really just an identity thief who’s hacked into their e-mail account and sent it out to all their contacts.” Delete the message and try to call the person before you fork over any info.

Be careful what you post on Facebook
Without even realizing it, many people put up information that could be used to answer their security questions and get into their accounts, says Schifferle. Is your mother’s maiden name, the name of your high school, or the name of your childhood pet on your profile? Anything that could be used to gain access to your personal information should only be given out on a need-to-know basis.

More From Women’s Health:
Online Privacy Predators
Social Networking: Don’t Overshare
How Does Facebook Impact Your Love Life?

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