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With the holiday season quickly approaching, fraudsters are at the edge of their seats ready to steal information. Shopping is soon to hit the peak of the year, both in stores and online. But, don’t forget about all of the other avenues where you could fall victim. Traveling for the holidays increases traffic through airports, rideshares, etc.

It’s important to educate our members and staff as to what the con artists have up their sleeves for the coming holiday season. Awareness and education are key to helping everyone avoid scammers.

Tips For You This Holiday Season

• Stay on top of your transactions by monitoring your account closely and report suspicious activity to the credit union immediately.
• Think before you click! And, this doesn’t just pertain to emails, be weary of online ads, applications, eGreeting cards and much more. Cybercriminals mimic legitimate content making it difficult to detect, so lookout for slightly altered URLs.
• Don’t trust a site or name you don’t know and don’t fall for the too good to be true prices.
• Use payment methods that offer tokenization. Many mobile wallets offer mobile, online and in-person settings that include tokenization.
• Have unique, complex passwords for sites that store your information and change your passwords frequently.
• Be cautious of the charities you are giving to online, in-person, and over the phone. Avoid donating to collection boxes and via phone and inquire the charity name and find them online.
• Ensure home computers, laptops, and tablets are protected with antivirus, anti-spyware and a firewall.
• Look for ATM and gas pump tampering, skimmers, or shimmers. Do not use the ATM or gas pump if you suspect tampering.