Holiday Scams and Best Practices To Stay Safe

Understanding Holiday Scams

Every year during the holidays, millions of Americans shop for friends and family as they search for the perfect gift. More customers will make purchases in stores this year, but online shopping has always been popular, and that will continue this year. Unfortunately, criminals are hard at work during this time of the year to commit fraud to unsuspecting people.

Tips for Protecting Yourself During the Holiday Season:

• Look for red flags to identify scams
  • Never click a link or open an attachment from any unknown sources.
  • If a deal appears too good to be true, it probably is.
  • Be wary of urgent offers/requests.
• Only visit trusted websites
  • Only visit websites with https and a lock symbol in the URL.
  • Duplicate websites are created to mimic well-known companies, thoroughly review the website before making any purchases.
  • If you’re unsure if an interaction is legitimate, contact the company directly. 
• Donate to reputable charities or organizations that you trust 
  • Do thorough research before completing any donations.
  • Be suspicious of newly formed charities.
• Protect your accounts
  • If possible, make purchases with credit cards or use third-party payment methods like Apple Pay and PayPal.
  • Add purchase alerts to your accounts to monitor for unauthorized transactions.
  • Avoid using public Wi-Fi without a VPN or a mobile hotspot.
  • Enable multi-factor authentication to add an additional layer of protection to your accounts.