Every year, more and more holiday shopping happens online. We’re also seeing more cybercrime as criminals try to steal personal and financial information from shoppers. Here are some tips to get cyberfit while shopping this holiday season.
First, shop online at home using a password-protected network and don’t click on suspicious links or download items from unknown sources. Once inside your system, thieves have access to not only your financial information, but your health information also.
You should also pay attention to the website addresses you’re visiting. Sometimes malicious websites look identical to the real site, but have a different spelling or domain, like “.net” instead of “.com”.
Next, make sure the website is secure (look for “https://” in the website address) before you enter personal or credit card information. The “s” means that the site uses encryption to transmit your information over the internet.
When searching for the best deal, you may be tempted to buy a normally expensive item at a very low price. But you should avoid shopping through pop-up ads or unfamiliar websites, as your information could be stolen. Instead, type in the address of the site you want to visit. It’s safer than clicking on a link to the site.
Finally, keep a record of your order in case it doesn’t ship or if there are unauthorized charges on your bill.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, you also need to be careful when shopping offline. Some criminals will try to steal your information by installing a skimmer on ATMs or other card readers. Skimmers are small devices that criminals install on card readers. They download your stolen information and encode it on blank cards so that they can make withdrawals or buy things using your bank account.
You can avoid being “skimmed” in several ways. First, inspect the ATM, gas pump or credit card reader before you use it. Be suspicious if anything is loose, crooked or damaged, or if you see scratches or tape residue on the machine. Then, when you enter your pin, block the keypad with your other hand so that hidden cameras can’t record your pin number. Finally, be careful about where you use ATMs. Tourist locations are often targets. Try to only use ATMs at indoor locations as they make it harder for criminals to install skimmers.
In any shopping situation, use a credit card. There are laws that limit your responsibility to pay for fraudulent charges on credit cards. Also, check your purchase records against your credit card and bank statements and report any differences immediately. If you believe you’ve been a victim of Internet fraud or cybercrime, report it by filing a complaint.
Learn more about being cyberfit on the TRICARE website.
