During the holidays, there are more scams and fraud that take place compared to any other time. Fraudsters know that more people will be using their credit cards and partaking in more online activity. To keep your information safe, we wanted to share some items to be mindful of.
1. Be Aware of Who is Asking For Financial Information
When shopping online, you want to make sure that you trust the site you are using. This is especially important if you plan on making purchases from this site. Even though you may find the perfect gift on a random website, it doesn’t mean that you can automatically trust the site with your information.
2. Keep Your Passwords a Secret
Where do you store your passwords? Do you keep them on your laptop or do you have them written down somewhere? No matter where they are, you want to make sure they are hidden and not easily accessible by many people. You never know who may be walking past your desk or what sites may hack your computer for information. Another important item to note is to be careful not to log in to your banking accounts on public Wi-Fi. Public Wi-Fi is not very safe and fraudsters can easily tap into the network and steal your information.
3. Protect Your Computer
To ensure that your computer is safe, you want to make sure that you install an antivirus software that can prevent unwanted malware and hackers from taking over your computer. This is incredibly important if you have many private and confidential files and passwords saved on your computer.
4. Be Careful About What You Click On
Although it may look like a valid button to click on, some of these buttons are traps. When you click download, instead of downloading the video or link, you may be installing malware on your computer. Make sure to be careful about the buttons you click on and what websites are asking you to download just to be safe.
5. Take Precautions With Emails and Phone Calls
Fraudsters will do anything they can to steal your information. In addition to trying to hack your computer, they will also try to send you fake emails and try to call you with some emergency. If you get emails and phone calls like this, take precautions and do not give any financial information over email or on the phone.
Do you have more prevention tips? Let us know!
As we work together to get through these ever-changing times, let us know how we can help! We want to assist you on your financial journey in any way we can. Please give us a call at 800-835-3400 to speak with one of our Member Advisors, or visit us online at caminofcu.org for more information.