10 Ways To Avoid Holiday Identity Theft

As the Internet’s popularity for holiday shopping increases, so does the risk of identity theft. Cyber criminals are growing more successful this holiday season at stealing people’s identities by setting up fake websites to scam millions from unsuspecting shoppers. Victims are losing money by entering their credit card information, sending checks, or giving bank account details.

Criminals who set up scam sites go through the same process that legitimate e-commerce sites do in regards for SEO, SEM, and online advertising via keywords. They take advantage of popular news stories or toys for the season, such as Tiger Woods, and boost their rankings in the search results to show up alongside legitimate sites. These same processes are also being used for infecting searchers with adware as well. No one wants their identity stolen, so take some tips from us. Here are 10 ways you can avoid identity theft this holiday season.

Many fake websites will phish for traffic via an email, tweet, or spam message on a social site. Do not click through.

If you don’t recognize the e-commerce brand or site, don’t click through. Especially if the offer is too good to be true.

If you are getting an email or message from a respected e-commerce site and you click through, check the domain name/URL address for a suspicious address. The criminal could be cybersquatting on the domain.

When placing an online order, check out the address bar for an “https”, which signifies a “secured” page. Scammers don’t normally take the time to secure their site.

If you purchase from eBay, check out the eBayer’s history first. eBay tends to lean on the honor’s code heavily and there are known to be a significant amount of scammers on the site now.

Pay close attention to your credit card statements. Check them every two weeks online and refute any unauthorized charges within two billing cycles, otherwise you will be picking up the bill no matter what.

Don’t pay by check or money order. Once that money is taken from your account, it is extremely difficult to get back. Use a uniball gel pen to avoid check-washing.

Only do business with websites you know and trust.

If you think your identity has been stolen, freeze your credit immediately. Go to ConsumersUnion.org and follow the steps for your state.

Buy proven and effective spyware blockers and install it on any computer that you use for sensitive information. Catch the criminal before he catches you.

The recommended solution is a proven and trusted anti-spyware program that will ensure the safety and security of your private and confidential information. Spyware Doctor is an anti-spyware program that will give you the confidence and privacy that you need when conducting business. There is no need to worry about which anti-spyware programs are right for you. Spyware Doctor will ensure you will be able to once again relax and enjoy your time on the computer without the fear of infection or identity theft.

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Author: Ethan Luke. 11-13-09. <a href="http://www.spyware-blockers.com">Spyware blockers</a> - Spyware Doctor is consistently one of the highest highest rated spyware blocking software from CNET.  Come download at spyware-blockers.com!

Summary: The recommended solution is a proven and trusted anti-spyware program that will ensure the safety and security of your private and confidential information. Spyware Doctor is an anti-spyware program that will give you the confidence and privacy that you need when conducting business.

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