Online Shopping Safety
December 2020
Christmas shopping may look a little different this year because of the various COVID-19 restrictions. This may cause a lot of holiday shoppers to instead by their gifts online. Getting all of your Christmas shopping done online is an easy way to buy for your loved ones for this unusual Christmas season, but sometimes, it is not the safest. Ascension Credit Union wants to help you to make smart decisions while shopping online by following these four easy tips.
Create Complex Passwords
Creating strong, unique passwords for all your online shopping accounts really is the best way to keep your personal and financial information safe. If you reuse your passwords, a hacker can take the leaked data from one attack and use it to login to your other accounts. If you have trouble remembering different passwords for different sites, try writing your passwords in a safe place to make sure you don’t forget them.
Use Familiar Websites
Start at a trusted site. Search results can try to bring you to a site that you are not familiar with, especially when you drift past the first few pages of links. If you know the site, chances are it's less likely to be a scam. Just about every major retail outlet has an online store, from Target to Best Buy to Home Depot. Beware of misspellings or sites using a different top-level domain (.net instead of .com, for example). Even though the sales on these unfamiliar sites may be tempting, that's how they trick you into giving up your information.
Click Smart
Careless clicking while online shopping can easily allow unsafe sites to steal your information. Many of today’s online threats are based on phishing or social engineering. This is when you are tricked into revealing personal or sensitive information for fraudulent purposes. Spam emails, “free” offers, click bait, online quizzes and more use these tactics to trick you into clicking on dangerous links or give up your personal information. If an offer sounds too good to be true, or asks for more personal information than usual, then it probably is a scam.
Check Statements Regularly
Don't wait for your bill to come at the end of the month. Go online regularly, especially during the holiday season, to view electronic statements for your credit card, debit card, and checking accounts. The Fair Credit Billing Act ensures that if you get scammed, you are only responsible for up to $50 of credit card charges you didn't authorize. There are protections even if you're not happy with a purchase you did make. In the case of credit cards, pay the bill only when you know all your charges are accurate.
Ascension Credit Union wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas and happy holiday shopping. If you feel like you may have had your banking information stolen while shopping online, we are here to help. Contact us at 225-621-8200 or visit our website at ascensioncu.org!
