Do you know that 34% of Americans admit to taking more risks when shopping online during the holiday season compared to other times of the year?
That’s what the 2022 Norton Cyber Safety Insights Report, prepared by the Harris Poll, found last year. Also, 36% of Americans have fallen victim to online shopping scams during the holidays. Their loss? $387 on average.
Most often, cybercriminals connect with their victims in the following ways:
- Email – 40%
- Social media – 38%
- Third-party websites – 32%
- Text messages – 27%
- Phone calls – 23%
In other words, they use many means to steal your hard-earned money.
This holiday season, build your cyber know-how to outsmart online thieves.
Leverage these five tips to safeguard your holiday resources:
- Go straight to the source. Instead of Googling your favorite website and choosing the result, type the URL into your browser to avoid fake look-alike websites.
- Avoid “too good to be true” ads. There are discounts, and then there are discounts that are so big they give you pause. Avoid those; they are likely scams.
- Be suspicious. Beware of unsolicited emails, text messages, and phone calls about holiday shopping. They are a red flag; only buy from trusted sources.
- Avoid cash apps like Venmo. You won’t get your money back if it’s in the hands of online thieves. Instead, use your credit card–it comes with consumer protections for purchases.
- Use unique passwords on retail sites. Are you buying from different retailers? Ensure you have a unique password for each site to boost security.
Want other ways to build your safe holiday shopping muscle?
- Listen to our podcast episode, Don’t Get Hoaxed this Holiday Season – Tips for Safe Online Holiday Shopping.
- Check out our upcoming events to learn how to click with caution.
- Complete our self-paced Kahoot game and see where you land on the Yale scoreboard!