A study from Norton found that 36% of Americans have been victims of online shopping scams, and they lost $387 on average as a result.
With more people doing their holiday shopping online, cyber criminals are out in full force attempting to steal your personal data.
To avoid scams this holiday season, follow these tips from the experts at our cybersecurity company in Miami.
Beware of Fake Shipping Notifications
Scammers know that more people are shopping online during the holidays, and they’re eager to track their packages. To get a hold of your personal data, criminals may send you a text message or email with a delivery notification and a phishing link disguised as a “tracking link.”
If you receive text or email alerts of packages being shipped or delivered, don’t click any links that are associated with these messages. Instead, search the status of your tracking number on the carrier’s official website (UPS, USPS, FedEx, etc.).
Verify Website Legitimacy
During the holiday season, many scammers go to great lengths to create fake websites and ads that look just like some of the top online retailers.
These counterfeit sites are meant to deceive unsuspected shoppers and convince them to provide their personal data and credit card information.
To protect yourself, first verify the website’s legitimacy. Check the URL of the site to see if there are any additional characters or errors.
For example: www.3amazon.com
Also, look for security features, like “https” in the URL and the lock symbol on the browser address bar. That lock symbol indicates that the site has an SSL certificate to safeguard data from hackers.
You may also see counterfeit ads during the holiday season. It’s important to remember that anyone can post an ad online. Social media sites like Facebook are prime targets for cyber criminals looking to post fake ads.
If you want to protect yourself, don’t click on the ad. Instead, first search for the retailer’s name on Google along with the words “scam” or “complaint.” If you do come across a fake ad, report it to whichever site or app you saw it on.
Make Sure Sites are PCI Compliant
To help make sure that your information is safe when shopping online, check to see if the site is Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliant.
PCI compliance helps protect consumers and requires merchants to uphold certain standards to ensure credit card transactions are secure.
When sites are not PCI compliant, then your potentially identifiable information can be at risk because there’s no end-point security to shield the transaction.
Don’t Save Your Credit Card Information
Many e-commerce stores make it easy to save your payment information. While this may seem convenient, it puts your sensitive data at risk.
To protect yourself, don’t save your credit card information on retail sites. If a criminal gets access to your credit card information stored on the site, they could use your data to steal from your accounts.
More cyber criminals are targeting digital checkouts to steal data. Last year, the FBI received 440,666 reports of credit card fraud, making it the most common type of identity theft in 2022.
Holiday shopping online doesn’t have to be stressful or risky. Use the tips above to avoid scams and protect your personal data.