Don’t be a victim: Here are key tips before shopping this holiday
As holiday shoppers merrily pull out their cash or credit cards this holiday season, Bill Hardekopf has a very simple, yet critical piece of advice for one and all.
“It’s a very important thing that each individual consumer check their credit-card statement very diligently each and every month to make sure that nothing’s going on,” Hardekopf, founder of credit-card comparison site, LowCards.com, said Monday.
“These online cyber-thieves figure out a way to break into systems, and smart people find a way to make the checks and balances better, then the thieves figure out a way around those,” he said. “It’s a continuous fight to try to keep our financial information secure and safe.”
Just take a look at the news headlines in the recent years and it becomes apparent that card and information pilferers are lurking both in the brick-and-mortar and online worlds with the intent of separating consumers from their hard-earned money and, in some cases, ruining their credit for months, if not years.
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Hardekopf points to the high-profile Target data breach in 2013 that sent shock waves through consumers, heightening their potential vulnerability. Home Depot and. more recently. Equifax also have experienced breaches. The latter is the company that makes a living monitoring the credit of people and letting retailers and other lenders know if their customers are worthy of the money they are being granted on a payment plan.
“Now these (card and data breaches) come in such rapid form and they seem to happen each week, a store here and a store there. I think people have just been conditioned that it’s not as stunning of a news story as it used to be,” Hardekopf said of the financial predicament that has left Americans apparently unfazed about the harm that could await them if their personal and financial information is stolen.
“It could be that some people have checked (their credit report) after this breach and after that breach and haven’t seen anything,” he said. “That didn’t happen with the Target breach or the Home Depot breach, and it’s not going to happen to me. I think there’s a denial factor. But we do need to be very diligent in checking because if you ever are breached it’s a very big deal because your identity can be stolen.”
So as shoppers in the Chattahoochee Valley and beyond get into the spirit of giving this 2017 holiday season, here are some tips from LowCards.com that just might help to keep you, loved ones and friends from becoming a victim. Pass this wisdom along.
▪ Mobile protection — First, consider using a mobile payment wallet, such as Apple Pay or Android Pay. Since these payments are completed using a unique token, your credit card information will not be transmitted through the payment card system, meaning you may not be affected by future breaches.
▪ Follow the news — It is not a bad idea to type “data breach” into Google News once a day to see who the latest victim has been. Then if you shopped at that store or restaurant, you know to be extra vigilant about your credit card activity.
▪ Keep an eye on it — Check your credit card statements regularly. Even if you have auto-payments set up with your card issuers, you will still want to open your statement (or log-in to your account online) and make sure you review all the charges. If you notice fraudulent activity, contact your card issuer immediately, and they will reverse the charges and likely issue you a new card.
▪ Stay awake and alert — Set up text or email alerts for your card. Then, every time a charge is made, you will immediately receive a text or email. You will know right away whether a charge is fraudulent.
▪ Consider a fraud alert —Contact one of the three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) and place a fraud alert. It is free and lasts for 90 days, but can be renewed. The credit reporting agency you call is required to contact the other two agencies. This makes it harder for an identity thief to open an account in your name. When you have a fraud alert, a business is supposed to verify your identity before it issues credit, so it may contact you.
▪ Consider a credit freeze — This may cost you up to $10 at each credit reporting agency, but it prevents a fraudster from opening up any new account in your name. The freeze has to be lifted in order for a new account to be opened. It may also cost you up to $10 per agency to unfreeze your account.
▪ A credit report essential — It is free to check your credit report every year, so take advantage of this. Carefully read your credit report to make sure you recognize all of the accounts. When Equifax was breached earlier this year, criminals likely gained access to the social security numbers (and other private information) of about 143 million Americans. With this information, unauthorized parties could open credit card accounts in your name. Thus, it is important to check your credit report to ensure this hasn't happened.
This story was originally published November 20, 2017 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Don’t be a victim: Here are key tips before shopping this holiday."