Keep Your Information Safe During the Holidays

As you make your online purchases this holiday season, bad guys might be watching. This isn’t meant to scare you, but rather to help you keep your information safe.

Take it from Rob LaMagna-Reiter, Vice President & Chief Information Security Officer at WoodmenLife.

“If you haven’t had your information stolen and possibly used for malicious purposes, it’s because you’ve been lucky,” LaMagna-Reiter said. “It’s not because you’re safe.”

Supporting his statement is a report from AARP, which said American adults lost more than $40 million to identity fraud in 2023.

However, there are steps you can take and habits you can form to help protect yourself online.

Tips to Keep Your Information Safe

LaMagna-Reiter offers four tips that can make a big difference when you’re online:

• Don’t click on links or redirects; always go directly to the website where you want to make a purchase — meaning type the URL into the browser
• Have a unique, strong password for each of your online accounts. It doesn’t have to be complicated; simple and long is better — think your favorite sentence or phrase
• Use a password manager, a feature that most devices have, so you only have to remember one password
• Turn on multifactor authentication whenever it’s available

Public Wi-Fi Precautions

Where you’re logging on also makes a big difference when it comes to keeping your information safe, LaMagna-Reiter continued. If you’re using public Wi-Fi, assume it can be seen by others.

“I wouldn’t do your taxes or look at your bank statement in the coffee shop or at a store,” he said with a smile.

To provide a measure of protection against digital snooping in those settings, LaMagna-Reiter recommends setting up your personal devices for automatic updates. This ensures they have the latest patches and other defenses in place.

Beware of Fear Attacks

Just like being aware of where you’re going online is important, so is being mindful of fear attacks.

LaMagna-Reiter said the holidays often see an uptick in the use of information available on social media to hatch scams that pull at people’s heartstrings. These could be an online appeal for love or a grandchild seeking financial help because they’re in trouble.

“These are proven ways to provoke a response,” he said. “Be wary of them. If you suspect something, contact the authorities.”

Freeze Your Credit Reports

Keeping your information safe means being proactive, too, LaMagna-Reiter said. For instance, you don’t have to wait until you get a letter about a data breach that made your information vulnerable. Instead, you can freeze your credit reports right now and gain protection against someone misusing your identity.

Freezing your credit report prevents anyone from opening a line of credit, applying for a credit card or applying for a loan with your information. (Note: If you want to do any of those things, though, you’ll have to remember to unfreeze your reports.)

To freeze your credit reports, go to each credit reporting agency — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Each agency will ask you to create a free account and guide you through the process.

As you’re doing your online shopping this holiday season, be alert and prepared. With the right precautions, you’ll make it harder for identity thieves to catch you off guard.

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