The huge retail crowds are not the only hassle of the holiday season that can come between you and the joy you have come to expect this time of year. You have a BIGGER problem that requires your full attention – your credit card.
Unfortunately, many of the larger retail stores remain woefully unprepared to defend against a cyber-attack that if successful – and by successful I mean one that could steal your personal credit card information. That’s bad news – but it gets even worse. Some credit card companies have or are considering reducing their fraud protection in order to speed transactions during this busiest time of year.
Here is what you can do to hinder the endeavors of hackers that want first to obtain your personal information and then sell it to a third party:
- Pay in cash whenever possible
- Use prepaid cards
- Avoid debit cards
- Secure all your accounts with strong passwords and change them frequently
- Carefully monitor your credit card bills
- Ask your financial institution to set up fraud alerts on your accounts
By reviewing these 6 steps you will have taken at least some action to protect your information and assets on the way to enjoying the holiday season.