Another year has flown by so fast already, but here we are again nearing the holiday season. Unfortunately, we aren’t the only ones getting ready for the season’s greetings, as the cyber-criminals are preparing for another go at holiday-themed shopping scams.
Last year we saw another crazy spike in financial losses during the winter months, with non-payment or non-delivery scams costing people more than $337 million, as well as credit card fraud accounting for another $173 million in reported instances.
So, without further ado, here’s this year’s list of 10 tips to keep yourself safe when shopping online for the holidays.
1. Beware Search Result Deception
Bad guys love taking advantage of search engine results (Google, Firefox, etc.) because they know how most people click on the first result they see when searching online, ESPECIALLY during the holidays.
Criminals can pay for ads just like anybody else, meaning that anyone can pay to have their website pop up as the first search result for something. However, just because it’s the first option at the does NOT mean it is the best choice. Most often, the first five or so results are paid ads.
Here’s an example of what NOT to click on. This is a search for “credit report” and as you can see the first three results are all ads.
While the possibility of these ads being malicious is relatively uncommon, it’s still a good habit to scroll down and click on websites you are familiar with and have used before.
2. HTTPS Means It’s Safe, Right?
It’s become a common misconception that a website with these symbols—
—and https:// in the URL are what deems a website as “safe”.
However, all HTTPS means is that the website has paid for a security certificate stating that the information transmitted on your website is encrypted. It does not mean the company that owns the website is legitimate. The bad guys can buy security certificates just like legitimate businesses.
HTTPS is still a good thing for a website to have, and you should still avoid websites that don’t have it at all. Just don’t let it be the deciding factor for you to determine if a website is completely secure or not.
3. Do Your Research
Buying from a website you’ve never bought from? Feeling a little skeptical about completing the purchase?
Simply do a quick search to confirm your suspicions—type the name of the site you’re on and use key words to look at any issues other people have run into using that site.
For example—You could search “scammed while using amazon”, “is amazon a reliable site?”, “amazon reviews”.
Obviously, Amazon isn’t a site you should ever have to worry about (and should probably be one of the only shopping sites you use), but you get the idea.
This also works for a product you see advertised on social media offered by an unknown company. Before you make the purchase, spend a few minutes checking out the company online.
4. Too Good To Be True
This is especially true for all you Black Friday shoppers.
Beware of websites and items that are seemingly being offered at a ridiculously low price. Most of the time, you will never get the item, or if you do get it, it’ll be a useless cheap knock-off. Stick to well-known websites and other companies that have been around awhile.
This also leads into the next tip—
5. Look for Real Reviews (Not Fake Ones)
If you haven’t started doing this already, this can be an easy way to determine if you are really getting what you’re paying for.
What you may not know is that there are such things as fake reviews, even on sites like Amazon.
Scammers can pay to have robots create numerous fake reviews for a fraudulent/shoddily made product. These reviews normally stand out compared to other ones. They’ll typically be short, simple, and not go in depth at all about the product—“great gift”, “works perfect” “love it” are a few examples of what these fake reviews might say.
If a product all has ALL positive reviews and not a single negative one, this is also a red flag.
6. Forms of Payment
This concept applies to paying for anything online. Unless you really have to, NEVER use a debit card or form of P2P payment to make a purchase on a site you aren’t familiar with.
Why?
As you should know, debit cards are tied directly to your bank account. Money stolen from this account is YOUR money. If you can report fraud to the bank in time, the bank will reimburse most of it for you, but this could take several weeks. If you don’t report the fraud in time (typically 30-60 days), consider this money completely gone from your account, as it becomes very difficult to get money from the bank after a certain time period.
P2P can be even worse. These are methods such as Zelle, Venmo, PayPal, and other payment apps. While using these apps can make buying online quick and easy, due to the nature of this method of payment, you only have 1-2 days to report fraudulent purchases.
By far the best way to pay online is by using a credit card. This is because money stolen using credit card information isn’t technically your money, it’s a debt owed to the bank/creditor. This means if you catch the fraud on time and provide evidence that it wasn’t you who made the purchase, the debt is simply removed from the account.
However, just like a debit card—if the fraud is not caught within 30-60 days, you will be responsible for paying off the fraudulent purchase.
7. Reconcile Statements
To avoid paying for the gifts that criminals are buying with YOUR money, you must check all your financial statements on a regular (if not daily) basis.
After the holiday shopping spree, some prefer to avoid looking at their December statements. This is a HUGE mistake. As I stated in the previous tip, the longer you wait to detect and report fraud, the more financial liability you may have. It is crucial, especially around the holiday shopping season, that you monitor all account transactions.
8. Guest Checkout
Unless you plan on using a website such as Target, Walmart, etc. for online shopping on a regular basis, consider using guest checkout. This way you can avoid providing the corporation/website trackers from collecting even more of your information. This will also help to limit the amount of spam you receive. Not all websites allow guest checkout. In that case, use an alternate email, one that isn’t tied to sensitive accounts.
To piggyback off that, if you do create an account with a site, NEVER store your payment information on that account. If a criminal is ever able to gain access to your account, they’ll be the ones enjoying Christmas morning instead of you.
9. Phishing Scams
While this is a threat you have to look out for on a regular basis, there are a few ways criminals take advantage of the holiday season in order to make phishing emails more believable.
Here’s several different malicious emails or text messages you may receive
- Package arrival/delayed notifications
- Fundraiser scams
- Christmas bonuses from employer
- Fake holiday sweepstakes winner
The list goes on and on, but regardless of whatever the topic is, you should NEVER click on any links or download any attachments, especially on your computer.
If it’s a message from someone you know, confirm with them that they sent it.
If it’s from a business/website you have an account with, log in to your online account with them and check your notifications.
Otherwise, delete the email.
10. Track your packages
If watching out for scammers while shopping online wasn’t enough, enter the porch pirates. Porch pirates will be on the prowl looking for unattended packages to steal. Keep track of when deliveries are expected and bring them inside as soon as possible. Some people have installed security cameras to catch bad guys in the act. Not sure if this is a deterrent, but at least you have proof of the theft. You can also register for an online account with USPS, UPS, and FedEx. The accounts allow you to track packages and deliveries.