How to stay safe online this holiday season

Thanksgiving is not just a time to celebrate with family and friends as Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping has become highly anticipated shopping days following the holiday. Last year, online shoppers spent a record $7.9 billion on Cyber Monday with over 50% of that coming from mobile phones and overall there was nearly a 20% increase in online shopping on Cyber Monday from 2017. As the number of people shopping online grows, there comes an increase of cybersecurity risks as well from phishing email scams and data breachs.

Here are some tips to help you stay safe online, not justduring the holiday shopping season but all year long. The holiday season may behectic at times, but it is meant to be a time of happiness; avoiding online scamswill help to keep your season full of cheer. Take these precautions to staysafe and if you feel unsure about a website or an email, trust your gut andstay safe.

1. Don’t click on links in emails

Now is the time of year that there is an increase in fakeemails from FedEx, UPS, USPS about redirect shipments, notifications from yourbank about verifying purchases, gift cards offers, and a wild variety of otherfanciful clickbait of great deals. Clicking on the link in an email instead of goingdirectly to retailer, bank, or shipping company’s website can redirect you to afake look-a-like website and scammers are very good at copying websites totrick users. Other phishing emails are designed to look like the real company,often copying domains with just a slight typo in the address (two v’s insteadof a w, an L instead of a capital i, etc) in hopes you will give up yourpersonal information.

• ‘Too good to be true’ deals usually are

A common tactic used by cyber-criminals is to lure you totheir websites with deals that appear to be too good to be true where they eithersell you something they don’t really have in stock or collect your privateinformation. It is important to keep this in mind when searching for that specialgift your loved one just can’t live without, if a deal seems too good to betrue, it is likely a scam and buyer beware.

• Shop at retailers you know and trust

By sticking with retailers whose brands you recognize andtrust, such as Amazon, Walmart, Target or Best Buy, you can lessen the chanceof your data being stolen, your payment card information compromised, or buyingan item that doesn’t truly exist as these companies invest heavily incybersecurity defense.

No matter which site you use, look for ‘https’ and a locksymbol next to the link in your web browser, as these indicate that sendingyour information to the website is secure.

• Give only the information needed

When signing up for a rewards for extra savings, never giveout more information than is necessary. No company needs your social securitynumber to make a purchase, so if they request it, do not provide it. However,if you are applying for credit, you will need to provide the information sosometimes you will need to provide it online, but as always, makes sure you seethe “https” and lock symbol before providing this information! If you get askedfor this information on a big-brand website while making a purchase, you aremost likely on a spoofed website, a website that looks like the real site butis really a fake, and you should exit the website immediately.

As a rule of thumb, if the information is optional, don’tprovide it. Only give the information that is required to make the purchase orsign up for an account.

• Use credit cards instead of debit cards

One recommendation that can help against significantfinancial distress if your information were to be compromised is to use yourcredit card instead of a debit card linked directly to your bank account. Oftenif  your credit card is used forfraudulent purchases, you can notify the issuer of the unauthorized use andcontinue on with your day without too much worry. But when a fraudster drainsyour bank account with fake purchases and suddenly you are left without moneyto pay for groceries, rent, or take care of other bills, the impact is very realand stressful as you deal with the bank to recover the stolen funds andsometimes those funds will not immediately be made available as the bank goes itsfraud investigation process..

Regardless of what kind of card you decided to use forshopping, online or in stores, make sure that you take advantage of any frauddetection services your financial institutions offer and check your account foractivity.

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