Author: Fundamental Advisory and Consulting, LLC
Some villains hate the holidays, it’s clear to see. Why else would they attempt to ruin the season for you and me?
To protect ourselves, we’ve taken several measures. Porch pirates see our camera; they don’t dare touch our treasures.
Our home is a fortress that will give villains pause. The only one breaking in will be ol’ Santa Claus.
But these criminals are not after the presents under our tree. No, these evil-doers want to steal our identity.
They climb not on rooftops, they leave your chimney be. No, they commit their crimes electronically.
But fear not, for we bring you good news. You can stop them in their tracks, with this advice just for you:
- Avoid using public Wi-Fi to shop, use your home network or even cellular data instead.
- Using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) at home and when you’re out and about will encrypt your data, giving you extra protection.
- When you shop online, be sure the website’s URL starts with “https”. The “s” at the end stands for secure, and it gives you additional protection.
- Check your account activity frequently as you shop to make sure there are no unauthorized transactions on your account. If you see something that you don’t recognize or that looks suspicious, call us immediately.
- Be on the lookout for skimmers. These are devices that look like they are part of a credit card terminal, but they are used to capture card data. These devices are typically found at unmonitored payment locations, such as gas station pumps.
- Whenever possible, use the chip on your card when paying. It offers the highest level of protection.
- Remember, we will never call, text or email you and ask you to verify a password, PIN or your account info. When in doubt, call us before you take any action on any notices you receive from Mechanics Bank regarding your account.
- All the standard steps you need to take to protect yourself from being scammed apply during holiday shopping. Look out for ads that are too good to be true, don’t be fooled by fake shipping notices, never click on suspicious links, and use your common sense when it comes to anything that doesn’t feel right.
“I’ve been so careful,” you plaintively say, “but a dreadful criminal has ruined my day!”
If this happens, take a deep breath. Then take two, for there are some things that you’ll want to do:
- Visit the FTC’s website to report the incident and access resources to help you navigate the steps you’ll need to take to protect yourself.
- Report the crime to your local police.
- Contact your card issuer so that they can cancel your card and issue you a new one.
- Place a fraud alert with one of the credit bureaus. You only need to do this once, the alert will carry over to the other two.
Heed our words this holiday shopping season, and you’ll be fine – whether shopping brick and mortar or even online.
And those dastardly thieves whose hearts are too small by a size, maybe two? They may find a victim, but it shall not be you.