Safe Online Shopping
Cyber Monday is almost here!!
With online holiday retail sales projected to increase as much as 15% over last year, the ITS information security office encourages you to take some steps to stay safe while shopping for your loved ones.
Things to be careful of include, those trying to trick people with fake products, claims of unauthorized credit card activity, fake shipping details for products, as well as those taking advantage of our good nature to extract personal and financial information through fake charities or websites.
Here’s what you can do to protect yourself against these cyber threats:
- Think before you click: Watch out for ads and emails encouraging you to click on links. Instead, go directly to the company’s website to verify the offer is legitimate.
- Consider your payment options: Using a credit card provides users more financial protection than using a debit card. You can also use third-party payment services to purchase gifts and other goods.
- Keep tabs on your bank and credit card statements: You should frequently check your accounts for any unrecognized activity. Most credit cards allow a cardholder to place alerts for activity on a card. Monitoring and good recordkeeping go together with protecting your personal information.
- Use a secure Wi-Fi: Using public Wi-Fi to check your shopping list or compare some prices is convenient but is not cyber safe. Instead of public Wi-Fi, use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) or your mobile phone as a hotspot.
If you do fall for one of these scams or tricks, reach out to local law enforcement and report it. You can also use credit freezes to protect yourself.
For more information on cyber security and information security tips, visit our website at www.odu.edu/safecomputing .
J. Douglas Streit, CISSP
Executive Director & CISO
IT Security & Planning
Information Technology Services
Old Dominion University
http://www.odu.edu/directory/people/j/jstreit
Posted By: John Streit
Date: Tue Nov 23 07:52:41 EST 2021