The fourth, holiday quarter is the most critical revenue driver for retail businesses, as consumers purchase gifts for their family and friends. However, the increased spending and transfers of personally identifiable information provides an ideal opportunity for an attacker to steal user credentials, payment information, and consumer goods.
Whether you are traveling, using your mobile device, or shopping in-store, COMPASS recommends that you take the following precautions to protect your sensitive information this holiday season:
- Create an email address specifically for any shopping sites to limit the likelihood of your information being compromised if one of your online retailers experiences a data breach.
- Be wary of apps that impersonate well-known retailers. Red flags to look out for are misspelled words in the description and recent creation dates.
- Do not use untrusted or unknown Wi-Fi hotspots, especially to make online purchases.
- Make sure the websites you are on are secure. Look for HTTPS rather than HTTP in the address bar.
- Designate a single card for any credit transactions to monitor suspicious activity.
For more holiday security best practices, download our Holiday Security Guide and follow the tips in the upcoming weeks to protect your information from being compromised.
