Today, the Attorney General’s Office learned people are receiving e-mails that appear to be from the AGO Webmaster or other “@atg.wa.gov” e-mail addresses with the following subject lines: •    New Pick Coming! But First I need your help, details inside•    Pick Of The Week•    This Stock is another monster week ahead•    DON’T MISS TODAY’S TRADING IDEA•    Your Mind Blowing Monster Pick!•    News Out & Must Read Inside. Let us assure you. These are spoofs.

January 28 is Data Privacy Day. To mark the occasion, the Online Trust Alliance (OTA) announced a series of town hall meetings and the release of the OTA 2013 Data Protection & Breach Readiness Guide. Attorney General Bob Ferguson is the keynote for the Seattle event on January 30.

Like many of you, I was introduced to e-receipts during the frantic holiday shopping season. Frustrated and tired at the end of a long day, I was barely listening when the cashier asked me if I wanted a paper receipt, email receipt or both. Working at the AGO, I know better than to agree to something before looking into the details.

Just in time for Halloween, here’s some scary news about people leaving themselves wide open to having their identities stolen, bank accounts breached and personal information posted for the whole world to see. FoxNews.com reports on the 25 worst passwords on the web.

According to the Kitsap Sun and Q13Fox, 16 students and employees at Olympic College reported that their credit cards had been compromised. The victims told college security officers that their credit card companies notified them of suspicious activity.

I hear it from my husband all the time when I shred paperwork containing personal information, “You are so paranoid.” Well, we are living in a time when identity theft is so prevalent. Now, tax-related identity theft is increasing.

January 28 is Data Privacy Day, an international event promoting awareness of how personal information is collected, stored and shared – and how that information may be better protected. Attorney General Rob McKenna and King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg, who are Co-Chairs of Washington’s Law Enforcement Group against Identity Theft (LEGIT), are taking this opportunity to ask businesses to reinforce their work to protect consumer data.

A great way to help protect your identity is to shred anything that contains sensitive personal information, including account numbers, birth dates, passwords or PINs, signatures, or Social Security numbers.

Children, as well as adults, are at risk of being victims of identity theft. It is a growing problem that can go on undetected longer and is harder to recover from. Unlike adults, who should be checking their bank and credit card statements and credit reports regularly, children often don’t know they have become a victim until they grow up and are denied a student loan or credit card. By then, the damage has been done and can be extensive.

As a victim of identity theft or fraud, you should take the following steps as soon as possible. Report the crime to the police or sheriff's office. Place a fraud alert and/or security freeze on your credit reports. Report the crime to your bank, creditors and credit reporting agencies. Ask businesses to provide info about transactions made in your name. Contact the Federal Trade Commission’s Identity Theft Hotline 1-877-IDTHEFT.