KENANSVILLE — ‘Tis the season for holiday grinches and porch pirates who would like nothing more than to steal the joy of Christmas from consumers this holiday season. With that said, the Department of Information Technology at James Sprunt Community College would like to remind the campus, as well as those in the community, to beware of holiday scams which target consumers.
“As the holiday season is quickly approaching so are the attempts to steal your hard earned money,” said Jeff Taylor, associate vice president for the department of information technology. “As online shopping is ramping up, the cybersecurity community is seeing a huge increase in phishing campaigns (email scams), as well as other activities directed at stealing your data. This happens every year around this time.”
The following tips, taken from the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center, are recommended to help keep your money and data safe this holiday season.
• Do not use public Wi-Fi for any shopping activity. Public Wi-Fi networks can be very dangerous, especially during the holiday season. Public Wi-Fi can potentially grant hackers’ access to your usernames, passwords, texts and emails. For instance, before you join a public Wi-Fi titled “Apple__Store,” make sure you first look around to see if there’s actually an Apple Store in your vicinity, and thus, confirm that it is a legitimate network. To help stay secure, you should always be on the lookout for the lock symbol on your webpage.
• Look for the lock symbol on websites. When visiting a website look for the “lock” symbol before entering any personal and/or credit card information. The lock may appear in the URL bar, or elsewhere in your browser. Additionally, check that the URL for the website has “https” in the beginning. These both indicate that the site uses encryption to protect your data.
• Know what the product should cost. If the deal is too good to be true, then it may be a scam. Check out the company on “ResellerRatings.com”. This site allows users to review online companies to share their experiences purchasing from those companies. This will give you an indication of what to expect when purchasing from them.
• One-time use credit card numbers. Many banks are now offering a single use credit card number for online shopping. This one-time number is associated with your account and can be used in place of your credit card number. This way, if the credit card number becomes exposed, it cannot be used again. Check with your credit card company to see if they have this option available.
• Keep your computer secure. When using your computer to do your holiday shopping, remember to keep your Anti-virus software up to date and apply all software patches. Never save usernames, passwords or credit card information in your browser and periodically clear your offline content, cookies and history. You will want to keep your computer as clean as possible for online shopping. The world of online shopping can bring lots of new products to your door step and can prove to be a lot of fun finding that special gift. Just remember to be careful so that you don’t make your data a special gift to cybercriminals.
• Always use credit cards for purchases. Avoid using your ATM or debit card while shopping. In the event that your debit card is compromised, criminals can have direct access to the funds from your bank account. This could cause you to miss bill payments and overdraw your account. When using a credit card, you are not using funds associated with your bank account. This means you are better protected by your credit card company’s fraud protection program. If you pay off the credit card balance each month, you won’t pay interest and your banking information will be protected.
• Don’t leave purchases in the car unattended. Criminals can be watching and will consider breaking into your car to get the merchandise you just purchased. If you must leave some items in your car, consider leaving them in the trunk or glove compartment rather than in a visible location.
• Beware of “porch pirates.” When shopping online and receiving purchases by mail, make sure you are always tracking your packages. The US Postal Service, FedEX and UPS all have systems to track your packages, and all three utilize tracking numbers that can be used to figure out where your item is and when it should be delivered to your home. However, the only surefire way to thwart porch pirates is to not have packages delivered to your home at all. Consider having your holiday packages delivered to a family member, or a trusted neighbor.
Although it may be tempting to click on an email or an attachment, if something seems suspicious, trust your instincts. Don’t let your curiosity put your computer or your personal information and data at risk. Happy Holidays, shop safely.