Happy, I got scammed to when I was fairly new - fake log-in page in a shop
I had never gone to the boards, didn't know about this forum, so it was pretty easy for that scammer to "get" me. It took me about 2 months to get that account back. I was actually "lucky"? They only took all my np and moved alot of my items around (which was weird), but didn't take anything and didn't touch my pets. Of course, this was like 2 years ago, these scammers/guessers/crackers/hackers nowadays seem to be much more mean. They'll take everything, abandon your pets, etc.
It really makes me so angry that that hotmail thing is still going around. I hope the folks who run hotmail (and other web-based email services) know about this and are doing something.
Passwords - make them really hard. You know what I've found helpful in making up a new password? The security code you need to log in. Some of those are really bizarre, and I would hope if you change the order of the letters/numbers would be pretty unguessable.
For emails? Use that security question! And for the answer, have the answer be something that has absolutely nothing to do with the question, or if you do have the answer go with the question, make the answer kind of nonsensical.
If you ever find yourself using a computer that others use, whether public or even at home with multiple users, I highly suggest clearing cookies and temporary internet after you log out or visit ANY site. It's what I do as part of my (hopefully) safter surfing. I also run my spyware and a/v every night.