5 Ways to Stay Cyber Safe this Holiday Season

We have all heard the stories: People losing money in a cyber scam, a bankcard that has had to be replaced because it has been compromised, and many other ways that simply swiping our cards this holiday season put our finances at risk.

So, with the holidays right around the corner, what does it mean to be cyber safe and how can we all be more careful during this holiday shopping season? Being cyber safe means making sure that you are in control of your bankcards, not just online but also in the bricks and mortar worlds. Debit cards are not just stolen from a cloud!

Here are a few steps to protect yourself while you are out shopping for your near and dear:

1. Make sure that when you purchase online you know the seller. If it is your first purchase from them, check other users feedback. It’s not necessary to get 100%, but two or three bad reviews over poor customer service or non-delivery should raise an alarm.
2. Whenever you use your card online, do so on a secure network. This means that you should never input your card details if you are on a public Wi-Fi connection. These are NOT secure.
3. When withdrawing cash at ATM’s (remember the days when it was used for everything?), security is not just about looking over your shoulder. Scammers often target an ATM and place a card reader over the card slot so that they can copy your card details. This is not as easy with a chip card, but they also can have a camera on the machine to access the details required to skim your card. Always check the slot to make sure it has not been tampered with.
4. Passwords (yawn). Boring maybe. A necessity? Definitely. Also, the biggest hole in your security? Probably. Use different passwords for every site so that when one is hacked and your details are stolen, only that site is compromised, not all of them.
5. Finally, and probably most importantly, remember security first. We use this every day in the real world even without thinking. We do not leave a credit card on a counter (well not often). We also do not go up to a stranger and give them our cards so that they can steal or copy them. We take responsibility for their care and the care of our money. Add this level of care to your Cloud life also. That way you stay in control and can minimize the risk to your information.

Doing these simple tasks can never guarantee your cyber safeness, but they can certainly mitigate the risks and enable you to have a more worry-free and enjoyable holiday season. Happy Shopping!