Holiday Identity Theft: 10 Tips to Keep You Merry

Identity theft should be a top concern year round, but the holidays make the danger more immediate than at other times.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, approximately 17.6 million Americans got hit by identity thieves, just in 2014. That’s about 7% of all U.S. residents who are 16 years of age or older. Almost 9 out of ten of those were cases where an existing credit cards or bank account was misused; in 4% of cases, personal information was used to open new accounts or carry out other fraudulent activities.

In either type of ID theft, thieves use devious means, whether you’re checking out at a department store or responding to a reputable-looking email from a retailer, to obtain your personal and financial information. Now throw in the chaos of holiday shopping.

Just by sheer numbers, the fact that you’re shopping more during the holidays — bringing out your credit card or checkbook in public or shopping online more — automatically increases your odds of being victim of ID theft. But it’s not just about how many purchases you’re making.

Herb Weisbaum, writer at CNBC, points out that the manic pace of the holidays, as a whole, is also to blame:

“You’re stressed. You’re sleep-deprived. You’re running around trying to get all of your shopping done before the relatives arrive. The crooks who want to steal your personal information couldn’t be happier. Identity theft is a year-round problem, but fraud prevention experts warn that the hectic holiday season is prime time for this crime.”

In other words, the holidays aren’t a time to let your guard down when it comes to protecting your identity and financial well-being. In fact, it’s time for you, even amid all the craziness of holiday shopping, travel, and festivities, to be more vigilant than you normally are.

From experts across the Web, here are 10 tips to help you ensure that fraudsters are uninvited to your holiday activities:

1. Try to carry as few cards, checks, etc., as possible

Because you’re shopping more during the holiday season, you’re also carrying, with greater frequency, credit and debit cards, checkbooks, and other items that could be used against you. And identity thieves are counting on it.

According to a survey by Javelin Research, a consulting firm that specializes in the digital finance realm, lost or stolen wallets, checkbooks, credit cards, or other physical documents account for 43% of identity theft cases — far more than other tactics online or in the digital space.

This means that your identity is more vulnerable during the holidays. What you might be doing simply out of habit might be greatly increasing your chances of having your finances hacked. The solution, therefore, is to become much more aware of what you’re packing around than you normally would.

“If your purse or briefcase is a mess, consider the risk of identity theft as a great reason to clean things up,” says USA Today writer Jeff Reeves. “Carrying around bills, extra credit cards, or checkbooks only increases the risk that thieves may get their hands on them. Try to only carry checks and credit cards you intend on using, and never carry documents with sensitive account information.”

2. Don’t shop on public wifi

Starbucks and other free wifi-serving locations have attracted customers with not just their food and services, but with the promise of free wifi. Office workers, aspiring writers, or other go-getters count on these hotspots to get stuff done outside an office. Included in their to-do lists is knocking out their holiday shopping. But what they often fail to recognize is that other wifi users can easily peek into their online shopping activities and steal information about their credit or debit cards during these purchases.

And, according to Jason Glassberg at Casaba Security, tablets and phones are not exempt from this threat. “People forget their phones and tablets are just computers, too,” he says. “You’re no safer using your phone than you are using your laptop if you’re connecting to a wireless network.”

But, some might ask, what if the wifi network is “secure”? Unfortunately, says Denise Richardson, writer at Consumer Advocate, it’s very hard to tell which ones are secure vs. at risk:

“You cannot verify the security of a public computer or wi-fi network. Some may be infected with spyware that records each keystroke entered. So, even if you are using your own laptop on an unsecured public network, you could be giving ID thieves your credit card information.”

With this threat in mind, you are much better off waiting until you get home to do that holiday shopping.

3. Be on alert for skimmers

This is a relative newcomer to the identity theft game, but one that nonetheless poses a threat to your financial well-being. What is skimming? According to Investopedia, skimming is:

“An electronic method of capturing a victim’s personal information used by identity thieves. The skimmer is a small device that scans a credit card and stores the information contained in the magnetic strip. Skimming can take place during a legitimate transaction at a business.”

Imagine a rogue waitress or someone brushing past you at the checkout stand with one of these devices in hand, and it gets easy to see how you could be taken advantage of. These identity thieves wouldn’t have to dig through your trash or trick you into giving away your personal information over the phone. All they need is a split second in close proximity to your card.

At risk of becoming overly paranoid, watch the people around you, especially as you’re navigating through crowded stores and restaurants. Of course, you can’t avoid crowds altogether during the holidays, so you’ll want to apply this next tip…

4. Be more vigilant with your accounts

How often do you take a good look at your account statements, how each dollar came in and where each dollar went? Well, with the identity theft threat level elevated during the holidays, you’ll want to check in even more frequently.

First, unexpected hits to your bank or credit card accounts are often the first warning signs that identity thieves are after you. The sooner you discover an attack, the more likely you can shut them down before the damage is too widespread.

Second, new identity theft tactics — like skimming (see Tip #3) — like to take little bites out of your finances — amounts so small you might not even notice them — instead of draining your whole account at once. Being meticulous about going through your statements, line by line, is the only way to spot these sneaky tactics.

This is a habit universally recommended by all identity theft protection experts. “Most forms of holiday identity theft can be caught simply by monitoring your checking, debit, and credit card accounts frequently,” says John Sileo of Inside Tech, before warning, “Remember, the pain of this crime gets much worse if you don’t catch it quickly.”

It’s worth noting here that many banks have started the practice of notifying their customers when they spot shady-looking transactions on your accounts, but even they are rushing to keep up with identity thieves’ rapid pace of innovation.

5. Take it easy on new card applications

“Would like to apply for a [store name] credit card and save 15% on today’s purchase?” It seems like such a benign offer. Unfortunately, it’s actually an invitation to bring a great deal your personal information, including your Social Security Number (SSN), out into the open, in front of a crowd of strangers. Needless to say, this is a bad idea, especially during the holidays when identity thieves are out in force.

“If you’re writing [your SSN] down and giving it to a stranger, that’s kind of crazy,” says Joe Loomis, ​CEO of CyberSponse, a cybersecurity company. “You don’t know where it’s going. Someone could take a picture with a phone or throw it away.”

Richardson agrees with this assessment:

“Thieves may try to get your information by taking a picture of your credit card or writing down the information they can see during your transaction.”

Instead of filling out a credit card company in such a vulnerable, public situation, Loomis recommends applying for the credit card online, from the relative safety of your home, or not applying at all.

6. Beware of phishers

Even though cybercrime makes up only about 11% of cases of identity fraud, according to Javelin’s study, the tactic of phishing — or sending emails that appear to be from legitimate companies that trick you into going to a fake site and giving up your most important personal information — is still a serious enough threat during the holidays that you need to be on guard.

During the holidays, as you make more online purchases than normal, you also receive more email communications from retailers. This makes it easier for identity thieves to sneak in their fake emails. If they’re not paying attention, holiday-frazzled shoppers can be too distracted to tell the real ones from phishing emails. To not fall for these, it really comes down to forcing yourself to be vigilant.

Caroline Benton of GoBankingRates.com encourages shoppers:

“Avoid scams by watching for emails that appear to be from a shipper or retailer. Check the email address and domain name of any sites and make sure they match that of the shipper or retailer exactly. Remember that no established company will require an email or password to be divulged by email or over the phone.”

And Richardson offers this handy tip:

“When you enter the buying section (or shopping cart) of the website, be sure the URL begins with https (as opposed to http). The “s” indicates that you are on a secure website. Any time you enter your personal information, be sure you see the https at the beginning of the URL.”

7. Stick with retailers you know

Some identity thieves are setting up shop as retailers, often advertising ridiculously low prices just to get you to their site and to the point of sale, where they proceed to take your credit and bank account information and run.

“Some immoral companies might advertise a product at an amazingly low price to attract your attention, but any deal that looks too good to be true probably is,” Benton says.

These fake retailers are usually retailers you’ve never heard of. For this reason, your biggest defense against them is to stick with retailers — especially name brand retailers — you’ve done business with and trusted in the past.

8. Choose credit over debit

If you’re trying to pay off your credit cards, you might be actively trying to not use your credit cards and only buying your holiday gifts with cash. But it turns out, especially during the holidays, using credit cards over debit cards can actually provide an extra layer of protection against identity theft.

“[C]ertain protections are put in place when you make a purchase with a credit card that are not provided with a debit card,” says the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC). “[W]hen you use a credit card, you can dispute a purchase before paying for it. With a debit card, the money is removed from your account at the time of the purchase. A thief can wipe out your checking or savings account before you ever realize the theft has taken place.”

9. Check charities before donating

Many of us give a little bit more charities during the last couple months of the year, as I covered in my recent article. But even this act of giving can turn into financial disaster if you neglect to do your homework first.

Unfortunately, identity thieves and other dishonest folks have learned how to abuse nonprofit status to get people to give up money or personal information for a good cause that doesn’t exist. Benton recommends that, even if a charity has a convincing website or impassioned call center employees, “don’t donate to charities until you have checked their legitimacy on sites like CharityNavigator.”

10. Do a post-holiday credit check

Once the stress of the holidays is behind you, the need to stay vigilant remains. Most identity thieves will hold onto your personal information indefinitely; they can choose to use it to break into your accounts months or even years down the road. And that takes us back to Tip #4.

You’ve got to keep monitoring your accounts and credit history, as these provide a radar of sorts for you to spot identity theft attacks before they turn into a full-blown nightmare. Reeves reminds consumers:

“You’re entitled to one free credit report every 12 months under federal law, provided by major credit agencies such as Experian, Equifax, or Transunion, and checking in after your holiday shopping is as good a time as any. Visit AnnualCreditReport.com for information on obtaining your free report.”

Beating Identity Thieves Makes For a Happier Holiday

The holiday is already stressful enough without your personal information or finances being compromised. With a little more vigilance than normal, you can go on with your festivities without worrying about this threat. And that peace of mind just might bring a little bit of holiday cheer back to your life.