Holiday shopping for your friends and family is a whole lot easier than it was decades ago. Clicking online while sipping cocoa on your warm sofa definitely beats dashing through the snow and waiting in the packed checkout lines. But make no mistake – online holiday shopping isn’t perfect. ‘Tis the season for scammers, fraudsters, con artists, and other tech-savvy grinches to try and ruin your holiday happiness.
Be On the Lookout When You’re Online
One of the easiest ways of avoiding a scam is to only shop on reputable online store websites. How can you tell if a website is reputable? First, check the website address. If it begins with “https,” the website is encrypted, so your purchase information – such as your credit card number – is better protected.
Also, be wary of pop-up ads, links in emails from a sender you’re unfamiliar with, and social media ads. These click-bait deals may be a trick to get you to input your credit card or account information.
Don’t Re-Gift Passwords
A strong, secure password or passphrase with a solid mix of numbers, symbols, and capital letters is one of the best ways to beat fraudsters in their own game. When creating a new account at an online store, resist the urge to re-gift a scammer a password you already use! Create a new one that’s strong and unique, making it difficult to hack.
If an online store offers multi-factor authentication, be sure to enable it. With multi-factor authentication, you will need to authenticate your identity using an additional step other than your password to access an online account or application. A few of the most common ways multi-factor authentication works is by sending you a code via text or email or using an authenticator app. This extra step is an easy way to stop a hacker and gives you extra peace of mind that your information is safe.
Say No Shopping on Public Wi-Fi!
Cyber scrooges like to hang out on public Wi-Fi networks. Some even set up their own Wi-Fi hotspots in an effort to set up a trap for unsuspecting shoppers. Public Wi-Fi is not secure, so when you use it, it opens up all your data, from credit card numbers to home addresses and more, for hackers to take.
A Naughty Scammer Scammed Me. What Now?
First, contact your financial institution, credit card company, or payment platform (like PayPal and Venmo) to let them know what happened. Scams happen to good people all the time and even more frequently during the holiday shopping season. The quicker you report the fraud, the quicker you can work on getting your money back.
Next, file a report with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC exists to help Americans who’ve been victims of the scams. In addition to IdentityTheft.gov, you can go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov if you experience scammers and fraudsters operating in your community.
Finally, if you are comfortable doing so, post about your experience online so others will be better informed. Your negative review on a store or comment on social media channels will help get businesses to take action. The information you share about your experience will help make sure everyone has a holly, jolly holiday without unwanted hacks, scams, and thefts.