Staying Safe during Black Friday and Cyber Monday!

It's so easy to get caught up in the sales and excitement of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. But remember hackers and other scams will be out there waiting for you, to prey on this excitement and your joy of wanting to get a jump start on your Christmas shopping. Enjoy all of the great online deals out there, but remember to be safe while doing so! 

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and for many, the real excitement is in the rush and excitement of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Deals are just waiting to be discovered, picked up, and purchased. One of the best parts? You can do a lot of this shopping from the comfort of your home, still eating Thanksgiving leftovers. But these shoppers aren't the only ones who are excited about the holidays. Hackers, Phishing Scams, and other dangerous lurkers are out there waiting to prey on anyone who will take the bait for a good deal. You should enjoy these opportunities and sales if that's something you enjoy doing. But if you're going to be participating in some of the biggest shopping days of the year, you need to be smart and stay safe while doing so. Please consider this list of tips and things to do as you are reaching for your credit card this year. 

• Shop on websites that you have known and have always trusted.
• Make sure to check that you are on a safely connected network and that the website you are shopping on is SSL certified. If the website is not, you do not want to use your credit card on this site! It will be much easier for hackers to get a hold of your information from these unprotected sites. 
• Don't use your credit card on an open WiFi connection. If you're at a coffee shop or using a similar public connection, this is not the time to be shopping online or entering your credit card information. These open WiFi connections are much easier to hack into and into your system once you're connected. Someone might even be waiting in your favorite coffee shop to prey on people who are connected and shopping, just waiting to steal their information. Also bringing your credit card out in a public place and flashing it around while you're typing in your information is dangerous. Just wait until you get home. 
• If a website looks suspicious, has a poor design quality, and looks questionable, it probably is. Don't chance it. This website could represent a legitimate business, or not. Having your identity stolen and compromised isn't worth taking the chance to find out. 
• If a deal is too good to be true on a website that you don't know and trust, then it probably is. Phishing scams are waiting online and in your email to pounce on you during the holidays. Be aware and cautious, even more than you might normally be. 
• If a website is asking for very personal and unnecessary information to gain a special deal or discount, avoid it. That is a phishing scam waiting to happen! 
• Make sure your passwords are strong and different for every website, credit card, and bank account that you log into. Change them often and don't leave that information laying around. 
• If you're shopping on your cell phone, all of these bits of advice still apply. 
• Social media scams are out there. Make sure to spot them. Again, if the deal looks too good to be true, it will be. If the link to the website or deal looks weird, it is. Make sure to investigate any new website or deal before you start giving away any personal information. 
• Read reviews and ask questions from those who have purchased or shopped on a website that is new to you. Read and pay attention to anything negative about the purchasing experience. Make sure their website has an FAQ and terms of service page that make sense and has been written specifically for the company. If they looked ripped off from any generic store or website, the rest of the website is quite possibly a front for something else. If something still looks scary but you still want to buy something from the site, call their customer service number. If the company doesn't have customer service or it seems very sketchy, think again. 
• If everything on the website you're shopping on checks out but you get to the checkout page and it's not secure? Log out and get off of that website right away. DO NOT put in your personal information! 
• If you haven't already put alerts or turned them on for your credit cards and bank accounts, do so before you start your online shopping.

Being hacked, opening and falling into a phishing scam, or getting your identity stolen should be the last thing you need to worry about this holiday season. But you need to be proactive and prepared to make sure you don't fall victim to these things. Use this list as a guide to stay safe, protected, and be able to enjoy your cyber shopping without fear of someone ruining the best part of the year! 

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