Online Holiday Shopping Safety Tips

All We Want for Christmas Is You… to be safe this holiday season!

To ensure that your holiday season is full of cheer, follow these tips when making purchases online.

Check Your Devices:

• Before making any online purchases, make sure the device you are using is up-to-date.
• Make sure you have strong passwords on all devices and accounts.
• Read your devices’ security settings to have a better understanding of how to keep yourself secure.
• Have automatic updates enabled on your devices.

Only Shop Through Trusted Sources:

• Refrain from adding personal or financial information until you have determined the vendor is reputable.
• If you have never heard of a website, try to verify the legitimacy before supplying any information.
• Do not click links or attachments unless you know where they came from. (Type the URL of the retailer into your web browser instead of clicking the link.)
• Never provide your private information to an unsolicited email! Legitimate business will never ask for this information.

Use Safe Methods and Practices When Purchasing:

• When possible, use a credit card over a debit card.
• Check your bank statements and credit card frequently over the holiday season. When you are making a larger number of purchases, it is easy to miss a fraudulent charge, unless you
  are checking regularly!
• If a suspicious email arrives in your inbox and you believe it may be a phishing scam, do not hesitate to report it at https://myservices.cisa.gov/irf

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