This Holiday Season...Protect Yourself!

The Holiday season is upon us, and cyber criminals are chomping at the bit to get their hands on your Identity. 

The holidays are prime season for identity thieves. With USonline holiday sales expected to rise 21 percent over last year to $33 billion (Forrester Research Inc), you can bet hackers, cyber criminals, identity thieves, cyber terrorists along with local identity predators will be out in full force. But don’t let that scare you.

Here are 10 tips you can use to make your online/offline holiday shopping hassle-free:  

1. Know the seller. Shop with reputable online sellers with secure sites. Check for an “https” instead of “http” in the address during checkout, which is an indicator of a secure site. If it’s a site you are not familiar with, look for a phone number and call it to make sure you can reach customer service if necessary. If there is no contact information or the phone number doesn’t work, get the heck off the site!
2. Beware of Links in Emails. Never click on links in emails to shop. Phishing is becoming a popular way for thieves to gather information. They send out fake emails with what look like legitimate URLs, but they are re-directed to a false site that collects your info. You are better of just typing the address into your browser yourself.
3. Don’t Shop on Public Computers. Many websites leave evidence (cookies, history) of your purchase on the computer you are using – Never shop on public computers.
4. Secure Your Computer. Make sure you have a good anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall on your computer – and that they are configured correctly. Run regular scans. Invisus Direct the leader in Monitored Identity Protection & Recovery Services, has a unique, best-in-class suite of professional security software that also includes unlimited access to trained security technicians for checkups and cleanups. You can get it here: nomorehackers.net
5. Secure Your Wireless Connection. Wireless is becoming the norm all across America. Be sure to only allow access to your home network from known MAC addresses and have a strong password. This can prevent outside users from accessing not only your Internet service, but your computer as well. And when using a public wireless network, make sure your firewall is configured to notify you of both incoming and outgoing connection attempts.
6. Pay Safely. You may want to consider having a low-limit credit card dedicated solely to online purchases to make tracking easier. A low limit can also help keep a thief from getting very far. Most credit card companies also have limits on how much you have to pay if fraudulent charges are made on your account. Avoid using money orders or cash transfers as these are difficult to track and are signs of cyber crime activity.
7. Keep Record of all of Your Purchases and How You Paid.Keeping track of the items you purchased, how much you paid and which credit card or bank account you used will help you verify charges on your account and recognize any unauthorized purchases.
8. Check Bank/Credit Card Statements Regularly. Check your account every few days to verify charges to your account.
9. Know How to Report Fraudulent Charges. So you see a charge that shouldn’t be there – now what? Contact your bank or credit card company ahead of time and find out the procedure for reporting fraudulent charges. Also, keep a list in a safe place of all of your credit card numbers and phone numbers in case you need to dispute a charge.
10. Sign up for Identity Theft Protection that includes not only credit monitoring, but identity monitoring.67% of identity theft involves non-credit related fraud, so you need a services that monitors your whole identity, not just credit. Check out the iDefend service from Invisus Direct at nomorehackers.net.