Protect Your Identity This Holiday Season

The holiday season brings more opportunities for scammers to take advantage of online shoppers. While online shopping may seem easy and harmless, cybercriminals can obtain a lot of private information just from a simple online order, such as your banking information. Keep reading for a rundown of tips to keep your identity safe if you're planning to buy gifts online this year.

Consider Using Credit Instead of Debit

Debit cards are a convenient way to spend (and can help you stay out of debt, since they only allow you to spend the money you have in the bank account linked to the card). Using credit cards for holiday spending might come with the risk of needing debt relief if your spending gets out of hand, but credit cards offer more protections against fraud.

Most credit cards have $0 fraud liability—if a scammer gets access to your credit card information and makes unauthorized charges, you won't be liable for them. The rules are different for debit cards—if you don't report the fraud quickly enough, you could lose money. Whether you opt for debit or credit this holiday season, be sure to opt in for fraud alerts across all your financial accounts.

If the bank or credit card issuer notices suspicious activity on your account (such as a charge for more than you usually spend, or in a location different from where you live), your account may be frozen, stopping the scammer in their tracks. And you'll receive a text message, email, or phone call, informing you of the potential problem. If it turns out to be you who made the charge, you can confirm and go forward with your transaction.

Connect to a Private Network

In advance of your holiday shopping, it’s important to take a deeper look at the internet connection you’re using to get there. If your connection is free and open to the public, it may not have proper security measures in place. That means your sensitive data could be exposed to others that are also connected to the same network as you while you’re shopping online.

It's best to shop online from the privacy of your home or another location with password-protected secure wifi. And while you're at it, be sure to keep your computer, tablet, or smartphone updated—yes, that software update can be time-consuming and always seems to pop up at the worst possible time. But it's important to let it run to keep your data safe and secure.

Review Your Financial Statements and Credit Reports

Instead of ignoring your monthly bank and credit card statements, start reading through them, especially around the holidays. Financial statements can be a huge indicator of identity theft. It’s smart to do some math and make sure everything looks correct. Double-check shipping charges, any discounted prices you were promised, even whether any coupons or discount codes you applied worked properly. It’s easy to overlook these items when purchasing gifts. Your statements can also show extra charges that you might not have caught unless you checked your statement.

It's also a good idea to check your credit reports a few times a year (you can do so for free at AnnualCreditReport.com). Scammers getting access to your financial information and opening new accounts in your name or making fraudulent charges on your existing accounts can negatively impact your credit reports and scores. If you spot accounts that you never opened, you can dispute your credit report and report the fraud.

Shop on Secure Sites Only

While browsing websites online before purchasing gifts, look for websites that are secure and safe. If a website’s address bar has an icon of a locked padlock before the URL, it means the website has security measures in place. If the URL starts with “https,” then the website is also secure.

Beware of websites that look suspicious. This includes strange URL formatting, tons of pop-up ads, and even extra costs not accounted for during checkout. Always shop with reliable websites who have a strong audience and brand. Reading reviews and asking friends about brands/websites can help give you the validation you need to continue with your safe online purchase.

Don’t Overshare

Since social media has become such a natural part of our lives, it’s easy to post personal information without thinking twice about it. Try to avoid including personal information about yourself in online profiles and other social posts. Stay away from posting any financial information, addresses of your home or family members' homes, middle names, and anything else that could be used to steal your identity.

Throughout the busy shopping season, put your cybersecurity above anything else. Shopping safely is more important than you think, so take some of these tips and implement them as you get ready for the holidays.