Gamer Safety Week begins with a lesson on how to secure your online identity

The second annual Gamer Safety Week takes place this week, giving companies the chance to promote account security in gaming, the Merchant Risk Council's Gamer Safety Alliance announced.

This year's week-long event focuses on account safety and security in the online world, teaching users about the significant damage a hacked online account can have on a user.

"A user's reputation, history and online identity can be lost in just minutes," noted Arthur Chu, lead fraud manager for Nexon America. "It is therefore critical for users with online accounts to take steps to safeguard those accounts, and equally important for companies to provide users with robust tools and resources."

"Once someone else has access to your virtual account they can use any payment type you have on file and may also be able to access other online profiles that you own," said Doug Park, director of online safety for Microsoft's Xbox.

The GSA offers suggestions for keeping your accounts secure. This includes by adding security proofs such as phone numbers or secondary email addresses to all online accounts, by installing the latest security updates for online devices, by installing and updating virus, spyware and malware protection, by using browser phishing filters and by creating strong passwords that are not shared with any other user.

Check out our interview with ArenaNet president Mike O'Brien regarding how to keep your Guild Wars 2 account as secure as your email.