An increasing number of people prefer purchasing online for a variety of gifts, cards, toys, and other various items for this holiday season. Yet despite all the convenience of just clicking away through pages and websites, there may still be some risks from a variety of factors that are present when going through online stores.

We will share with you a few tips to keep your personal information, money, and yourself, safe from cybercrime and cybercriminals.

Phone Facts

Remember that your bank will never call and request for you to give them your account information, because if you think about it, your bank already knows some of these details being asked from you. These people who ask you for such details are commonly scammers who pretend to be security agents who claim that your account has been deactivated or compromised.

When they break through your guard, they inform you that to fix this problem, they would require you to provide them your personal information (such as account passwords); do not give them any information and instead, dial your bank’s official contact number and ask them to certify if the claims of the “agent” are true.

Package Notices

Shopping online always equates to a lot of shipping. Generally, these websites update you regarding delivery information and package shipping; however, they inquire for your credentials to be able to check on the status of your package. If you receive an email which includes a link that goes directly to the FedEx or UPS sites, this is completely fine, but if the link goes to another website, it’s best to check directly on the shipping website and type in the tracking number yourself.

Check Your CC’s

Surprisingly, not everyone studies and inspects their monthly credit card statements and this is one of the most important things to do to track any unscrupulous charges that emerge on your bills. Remember that you cannot dispute an unwanted charge if you didn’t notice it, so always check your credit card statements every month to avoid such charges.

Password Change

Occasionally changing your password can be irritating but it’s best to change them regularly, and also, before and after the holidays to ensure security if ever one of the shops you purchased on has been compromised.

Charities

A large number of organizations persuade and pitch for the year-end giving activity; although this may have a positive outcome, scammers know about this and take advantage of these types of situations. They send a number of emails from websites of fictional groups to join the bandwagon. Do a little research first and study the group’s website to confirm that the organizations are real.

Enjoyment from Electronic Cards

Nowadays, electronic holiday cards are growing even more popular, so if you are going to send some to a few friends or relatives, ensure that you send these from websites that are safe and well-known. Scammers usually set-up sites that are full of malware which can only affect your friends’, family’s, and even your own computer.