Protect Yourself From Holiday Scams

With the holiday season in full swing, fraudsters are at the edge of their seats ready to steal your information. Shopping is now at its peak for the year, both in stores and online. But don’t forget about all of the other avenues where you could fall victim to holiday scams. Traveling for the holidays increases traffic through airports, rideshares, etc. It’s important to educate yourself as to what the con artists have up their sleeves for the coming holiday season. Awareness and education are key to helping everyone avoid scammers.

Tips to safeguard your information:

• Sign-up for transaction alerts if offered, if not stay on top of your transactions by monitoring your account closely and report suspicious activity to the credit union immediately.
• Think before you click! And, this doesn’t just pertain to emails, be wary of online ads, applications, eGreeting cards and much more. Cybercriminals mimic legitimate content making it difficult to detect, so look out for slightly altered URLs.
• Don’t trust a site or name you don’t know and don’t fall for the too good to be true prices.
• Use payment methods that offer tokenization. Many mobile wallets offer mobile, online and in-person settings that include tokenization.
• Have unique, complex passwords for sites that store your information and change your passwords frequently.
• Be cautious of the charities you are giving to online, in-person, and over the phone. Avoid donating to collection boxes and via phone and inquire about the charity name and find them online.
• Ensure home computers, laptops, and tablets are protected with antivirus, anti-spyware and a firewall.
• Look for ATM and gas pump tampering, skimmers, or shimmers. Do not use the ATM or gas pump if you suspect tampering.

Posted In: Tips For Managing Finances