There’s an increased risk of falling victim to identity theft and fraud during the holiday season, especially as you work your way down your shopping list amid the frenzy of the season. According to 2022 findings by Norton, about one in three adults (34 percent) in the U.S. say they tend to take more risks with online shopping closer to the holidays.
Globally, that number was 32 percent. Black Friday is the most popular day for fraud attempts. So, as we continue our Holiday Safety Smarts series, the focus of protecting oneself from holiday online shopping scams will be the focus for this week’s safety article.
The first line of defense is your holiday online shopping payment method. AARP’s 2022 study found that the majority, (64 percent), of the U.S. adults surveyed knew that using a credit card rather than a debit card was a safer option when making online purchases. 72 percent of respondents said they planned to use a credit card to make purchases, up from 67 percent in 2021. 68 percent said they planned to use cash, while 67 percent planned to use a debit card which was down from 69 percent in 2021.
Another safety measure is safeguarding your passwords. Take time to consider your account security before the holidays to help minimize risk. Use these best practices for keeping your accounts secure:
• Use a unique password for all your accounts. If that seems like too much effort, consider using password manager to help establish difficult, individual passwords for you.
• Turn on multifactor authentication. Wherever possible, and especially with financial accounts, turn on multifactor authentication. This security feature requires you to take an extra step to verify your identity before you can log on, and it could help keep your information safe if your account’s password is compromised.
Do not shop on Public Wi-Fi. Everyone is busy going in different directions so it can be tempting to cross a few items off your list while you are out and about, but public Wi-Fi networks might not be secure. Hackers may be able to take advantage of unsecured Wi-Fi to capture sensitive information that you transmit through the network. That is why it is wise to avoid taking care of holiday shopping, logging in to your bank account or doing anything that involves sensitive personal or payment information when connected to an unsecured network.
A virtual private network (VPN) might keep some of your information secure, but it is still best to avoid logging on to your accounts or making a purchase when using a public network.
The safety protections above can help you Keep an Eye on Safety as you finish your shopping and enjoy the holidays.
