Summary:
Year after year, consumers are spending more during Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. In 2019, Cyber Monday shoppers broke a spending record, consuming $10.8 billion online. Because of COVID-19 social distancing guidelines, online shopping has increased by $105 billion in 2020. These numbers have only continued to rise in 2021 — third quarter digital spending in 2021 was 6.6% higher than in the third quarter of 2020. As expected, online spending this holiday season remained high. Adobe noted that between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday alone, online sales reached $33.9 billion.
Black Friday as we know it — a post-Thanksgiving rush for the best shopping deals — began in the 1980s. Since then, however, it’s grown into an extra-long weekend of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday. There are many different opportunities for consumers to load up on discounted holiday gifts and make charitable donations — it’s as easy as one, two, swipe.
With the boom in online shopping and the abundance of data breaches that have taken place this year, it’s now more important than ever to make sure we’re all being vigilant and taking the appropriate steps to protect ourselves, our payment card numbers, and any personally identifiable information (PII).
How to Protect Yourself During the Holiday Shopping Season
Whatever your holiday shopping plans look like this year, safety should always be top-of-mind. Whether you’re planning on searching out “virtual” doorbuster deals, having an online shopping spree during your lunch break, or donating your end-of-year bonus to your favorite charity, be sure you’re not opening your wallet to scammers in the process.
Here are some tips to keep in mind as you buy gifts for your friends and loved ones:
Black Friday
Over the last year, we’ve seen a lot of data breaches involving point-of-sale (PoS) systems. In most cases, thieves have been able to infiltrate the systems businesses use to process payments by installing malware; if you swipe your card on an infected PoS system, or enter your payment credentials into a compromised online shopping cart, your payment information can be compromised.
How can you avoid falling victim to a PoS attack or another type of Black Friday scam? Think about using a more secure payment method. For example, using cash in person is always safer than using a credit or debit card — just remember to hang on to your wallet in the busy store! If you’re not a fan of using cash, or you’re doing your Black Friday spending online, credit cards are usually better options than debit cards. Credit card companies tend to offer better protection against fraudulent purchases, and if a thief tries to steal money from you, they won’t be holding up tangible funds in your bank account that you may have set aside to pay upcoming bills.
Cyber Monday
There may not be physical PoS systems to worry about while online shopping, but that doesn’t mean Cyber Monday scams and the risk of identity theft doesn’t exist. In fact, 91% of adults have put their personal financial information at risk while shopping online. It may be tempting to visit a website that seems to have the best deals, but don’t fall prey to a scam. Only make a purchase on a website if it is secure.
What are some signs you’re on a secure, trusted website? The URL should always begin with “https” rather than “http” — the added “s” means it’s secure. Some browsers also include a padlock symbol in front of the web address to show the site has a trusted security certificate. Likewise, some browsers will also tell you if it appears that a website is not secure or is dangerous.
However, even bogus websites can use these security features as a way of tricking you into thinking it’s a legitimate site. Do your homework; look for signs that the URL is not as expected, deals are “too good to be true,” or think twice if the site is asking you for unusual payment methods. A site asking for payment via wire transfers, prepaid cards, and gift cards is highly likely to be a scam.
Giving Tuesday
Giving Tuesday is the perfect day to give back and support charitable initiatives you feel strongly about. Of course, even when you have the best of intentions, cybercriminals and identity thieves will take advantage of your generous spirit.
Before you donate any money on Giving Tuesday, make sure that the charity or organization you’re contributing to is legitimate. If you visit CharityNavigator.org, you can review unbiased evaluations of almost 200,000 charities and get the inside scoop in advance. It’s also smart to be wary of any fraudulent GoFundMe pages or other crowdsourced initiatives. Unless you know the person who posted the page and you’re sure your money will go to the right place, it’s best to direct your charitable dollars elsewhere.
These tips aren’t meant to put a damper on your holiday shopping plans. We just want everyone to enjoy the season of giving, all while remaining vigilant and aware of the ways identity thieves may try to take advantage of their trust or kindness.
