Holiday Safety Tips 2021: Digital Edition

The last thing anyone wants to think about during the holiday season is safety and security. I get it; this is a time of celebration, of reuniting with family and friends, and we’re all looking to feel joyful and lighthearted this time of year. But digital safety is still important, and cybercriminals don’t take holiday vacations.

Scams increase around the holidays, and the Better Business Bureau even put together a guide to help consumers understand the most common risks this year. Among their concerns, shoppers are at risk of fake social media advertisements, fake shipping notifications, and more.

Many families will celebrate Christmas and New Year’s in the next few weeks. If you plan on doing any gift-giving, you’ve probably finished the majority of your shopping by now. That said, it’s still important to keep tabs on your finances and personal accounts during the ongoing holiday season. Whether you’re traveling, staying home, or a combination of the two, here are some holiday safety tips to keep in mind this year.

Use Common Sense When Shopping Online

Whether you’ve already completed your shopping list or you’re still purchasing a few gifts, remember to shop smart this season. No, I’m not talking about discounts and deals—though they’re great—I’m talking about making sure that you purchase from reputable companies and that you track your purchases. There are far too many scams out there during the holiday season. According to Gallup, the majority of American holiday shoppers plan to shop online this year.

But make sure you trust a brand before you make a purchase. It’s easy to feel frantic about buying gifts on time or finding the best deal, but don’t let that sense of urgency convince you to buy from a retailer you don’t feel good about. When you’re purchasing from an online brand, spend a little time making sure the company is reputable. Search the brand’s name in Google, look up reviews, and check to see if there are any spelling errors or missing pieces of information on the website. Only shop from websites that have “HTTPS” in their URL. This means they are secure websites.

If you get an email with a great promotion or discount, think before you click the link. Does the email sender look accurate? Ask yourself if the branding and look of the email are consistent with the brand you recognize. If you have any doubts, it’s better to search for that brand online instead of clicking a link or downloading an attachment from a sender you don’t trust.

Don’t give away personal information, especially not your birthday or your social security number—no retailer or company needs them to do business. If ever you’re in doubt, it’s always better to opt-out.

Keep Privacy in Mind When Posting Family Pictures

Even if you’re not a public figure, celebrity, or big name in your industry, what you share online still matters. Your posts online can indicate if you’ll be at home or traveling during the holiday season. When you share this information publicly, criminals have insight into whether or not someone is at home. Don’t post anything online that alerts strangers to your travel plans, when your home will be empty, or when you will be gone for extended periods of time.

And while most people use social media to share family photos, life updates, and more, be mindful of the information you share publicly. Don’t post photos of the front of your house (or a family member’s house), photos of children without the consent of their parents, or posts that give away family members’ full names, ages, or birthdates. All of this information lives online indefinitely, meaning that your name, information, names of family members, and more can be discovered by people you don’t know (and people with bad intentions).?

Think about it this way. What are some of the most common security questions for digital accounts? Your mother’s maiden name, perhaps? That could be easily discovered online if you’re sharing family information on Facebook or Twitter. What about your pets’ names? If that information is online, it’s better to choose a security question with a different topic.

I’m not saying this to stifle your fun, but social media has made personal information so easily accessible that it can put your family at risk.

Keep Track of Activity and Monitor Accounts

Monitor your accounts. This is good advice for any time of year. However, it’s especially important when making a significant number of purchases like many families do at the end of the year. Track your purchases and make sure that you know when they’ll be delivered. Keeping an eye on things after the fact will help you flag suspicious behavior, like unexpected charges on your credit card. And knowing when your items should arrive will help you know if you actually got what you paid for, and it will help you combat front-porch thieves.?

Keep tabs on bank accounts, credit card statements, credit scores, social media accounts, and so on. Look out for any suspicious activity and follow up with service providers if you notice any unusual transactions or pieces of information.

Most bank applications make it easy to send an alert any time purchase over a certain dollar amount goes through. This way, if your financial information is used for fraud, you’ll notice the activity as it is happening—instead of a few hours, days later, or a week later when you remember to log into your account. Service providers, like Aura , monitor these things for you across accounts so that you don’t have to worry about checking each individual application.?

Help Yourself Disconnect By Practicing Safe Digital Habits

It is so important to disconnect from digital life for the sake of our mental and physical health. Many people feel uneasy about disconnecting for fear of the issues I’ve mentioned above. The best thing you can do is take proactive steps toward digital safety and implement daily habits to protect yourself online . If you’re using strong passwords, careful about whom you share your information with, don’t click links or access unreliable websites, and keep your personal information to yourself, you’ve taken the most important steps to digital security.

To safely spend time with your family this holiday season, you need to set yourself up for success by practicing digital health every day. Small habits can transform how you interact with the online world, and they can help you feel more secure when you do have time to disconnect.

Don’t neglect your digital security as we head into the busiest part of the holiday season. Keep these tips in mind to keep yourself and your family safe online this year. Practice common sense and follow your gut when shopping online. Even though we see an increase in scams at this time of year, practicing digital safety habits can help reduce our individual risk.?