Christmas and New Year are just a few days away. Many holiday shoppers are still busy completing their gifts, groceries, and other needed items for their celebrations.
Credit cards are pictured on a computer's keyboard on February 5, 2013 in Rennes, western France. French police has arrested, early this morning in Paris and in several French and overseas departments.
But, consumers are not the only ones busy during the holiday season. Scammers and other malicious actors also have their hands full as they try to take advantage of the year's busiest period to fool more victims.
This means that even if the holiday season is about being generous and spreading joy, you still need to be vigilant. To help you, here are some tips that can help protect your credit or debit card.
How To Protect Credit, Debit Card From Hackers
Knowing how to protect your credit or debit card during the holiday season is not a piece of cake. It requires your time to do all the safety measures.
But, it would be harder if scammers, hackers, and other malicious actors are able to get your credit/debit card information since you could lose hundreds or thousands of dollars without even knowing it.
Luckily, Fox News' provided some effective safety tips that can help protect your credit/debit card:
- When using ATMs and transaction machines for credit cards, always be alert and aware of skimming signs. These include suspicious keyboards, removable ATM covers, etc.
- Always protect your PIN (Personal Identification Number). Never share your PIN with anyone, even those people who you trust the most.
- Always secure your credit/debit card when traveling; not only physically, but also when booking flights and hotels.
- If possible, try using contactless payments since they have encryption and tokenization to protect card information from scammers, fraudsters, and other malicious actors.
Read Also: Younger Americans More at Risk of Holiday Scams: Here's What Teens Can Do
Most Common Holiday Scams
A credit card is placed into a credit card machine for processing payments on September 11, 2023 in La Puente, California. Credit card debt from US consumers is rising by billions of dollars amid higher inflation and interest rates.
Nerd Wallet provided some of the most common scams that happen during the holiday season. These include the following:
- Romance Scams: Scammers will try to get your trust by establishing a romantic relationship with you.
- Amazon Scams: Since holiday shoppers tend to order on the Amazon marketplace, scammers will use Amazon scams, such as fake items, to lure victims.
- Charity Scams: Because the holiday season is also about giving, many scammers will fool victims into thinking they are giving to a charity when in fact they are sending their money to criminals.
Aside from these scams, gift card frauds, lottery scams, and other similar malicious campaigns are also rampant during the holiday season.
Related Article: Amazon Holiday Shopping Tips: How to Avoid Fake Sellers, Support Scam, Other Kinds of Fraud
