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Identity Theft During the Holiday Season.
The No. 1 crime in America is not petty theft or robbery or even shoplifting; it’s identity theft and identity fraud. During the holidays and in to the New Year, people become even more susceptible to identity theft, as they’re out buying gifts, cyber shopping, dining at restaurants or traveling to visit family members. Everywhere they go, the potential for identity theft lurks in the shadows. More than 40 million people had their identity stolen this year—in past years, the number was close to 9 million. An identity is stolen every three to four seconds.
During this time of year in particular, consumers have a tendency to let their guard down. Credit and bank fraud are ways that identity thieves will target consumers. According to the FTC approximately 40% of identity theft complaints falls under these two categories.
When you're out shopping, at a restaurant or traveling you should:
Beware of Skimming
Skimmers are small machines that look similar to other credit card technology, and thus can easily be overlooked even when used out in the open. During the holidays, stores use temporary workers to accommodate the shoppers who crowd the malls. These workers often go through a much-less thorough screening process than full-time, salaried workers. Often paid hourly at a minimum wage, these workers can be lured by the promise of quick money that skimming credit card numbers offers.
Solution:
When possible, use cash. That way, you can’t ever be a target of identity fraud. And don’t use debit cards unless you have to. Debit cards, when stolen allow a thief to remove money directly from your bank account. This can take longer to get reimbursed by your financial institution and can leave you short of funds when you need them the most.
Be on the Lookout, Always!
From an experienced thief to a teenager, anyone can steal a credit card number and use it to ruin your finances and credit.
Solution:
Watch to make sure no one copies down your card numbers. Shred all receipts, as many of these contain credit card expiration dates, as well as the last four digits of the card numbers.
At restaurants pay at the register. If you have the choice between giving your credit card to a waiter or paying at the register, always choose the register, so the card never leaves your sight.
Travel Cautiously
The holidays are a great time to explore new places and visit friends and family, yet the increase in the number of people traveling and staying in hotels this time of year also presents an increased threat of identity theft.
Solution:
Cut up or turn in hotel keycards. Most people don’t realize that these keycards contain important information about you and your finances. When you toss them out or leave them in the hotel room, anyone can pick them up and use them to steal your identity. And don’t forget to let your credit card company know the dates and locations of your travels, and ask a neighbor to pick up your mail while you’re away.
During the holidays many will turn to the internet for their shopping needs. The National Retail Federation estimated that nearly half of consumers will shop online in 2008; more than 61 million people would do so from work, potentially spreading their financial information on more than one computer. Here are some tips to help make your cyber shopping experience uneventful.
Internet Shopping Safety Tips
Think Before You Click!
E-mails containing links to online stores often contain phishing software that records your personal information as you type. Find reputable online stores using a search engine, such as Google, and add these stores to your favorites so you don’t have to trust e-mail advertisements.
Use A Secure Site
Utilize SSL (Secured Socket Layer) technology or protocol to transmit the information. The data is sent and special keys are use by the server to decode the encrypted information. To make sure when you send the information that you are using SSL check the URL and make sure that the “http” has changed to “https” and that a “lock icon” appears on the status bar on the bottom or top of your browser window.
Use Temporary Credit Card Numbers
Provided upon customer request by many credit card companies, for online shopping. Even legitimate Web sites sometimes get hacked into; by using a temporary credit card number, you can avoid thieves racking up additional charges on your regular card.
Lookout For Fake Sites
Some shopping sites that offer deep discounts really are too good to be true. These sites allow you to add items to your virtual shopping cart and enter your payment information upon check out, just like any reputable site, except the products never arrive—they never existed in the first place, and now the criminals have your money and your personal information! When possible, order through well-known sites like Amazon.com, eBay.com and Yahoo.
Shop in Private
Use your personal computer rather than one at work, a friend’s house, a hotel or the airport. You never know what cookies or hacking tools may accidentally be on public computers, and you don’t want your information stored where others can see it.