Holiday Security Tips: Protecting Your Privacy and Avoiding Scams

Today I want to discuss the scams and online security issues that I see pop up around the holidays. And of course, what we can do to keep ourselves safe. All of that and more ahead on The Secure Dad Podcast. We are in the heart of the gift giving season.

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Before we get started today, I wanted to share that there are going to be some really good, positive changes coming to this show in January. I'm excited about what's going on, and I can't wait to share more with you as we get closer to the new year.

As we approach the holiday season, we return to tradition. Decorating our homes, lighting candles to celebrate our faith, and getting scam emails to try to steal our identities. It just warms the heart, doesn't it? Like setting out milk and cookies for Santa, scammers set out fake deals and try to steal our hard earned money. It's the time of year when we watch how the Grinch Stole my credit card. The holidays are hectic, and scammers know that.

They know that we're out scouting the best deals to stretch our holiday budgets. They also know that we're moving fast and less likely to look twice at a convincing shipping email or answer that call from an unknown number. To paraphrase Charles Dickens, "It's harvest time for the money takers". So what do we need to do over the next few weeks to keep ourselves safe.

First, let's look at phishing scams. Scammers will send fake emails pretending to be retailers or delivery services. Personally, I have seen an uptick in my inbox in these types of emails since mid November. The common tricks that they use are fake shipping notices, unbelievable discounts, and fake customer service requests. Before clicking on any links, double check the sender and the URL.

If you want to check a URL before you click on it, go to urlvoid.com and they have a URL reputation checker. So you can go to that site and copy and paste the URL into it. And it will tell you if it has a good reputation or not. It's not going to tell you necessarily that it's a scam. It's just going to talk about the reputation. And there's a link for that in the show notes for you. But when in doubt, go directly to the retailer's website yourself and look for the deal

Next Facebook and Google have a hard time filtering out scam ads. And you would think companies that deal in mass amounts of data collection and profiling would have a better way to filter out scams, but some of them still slip through. Last year was the worst for out of country scammers using Meta ads to try to steal accounts and payment details.

My rule in general, especially during the holidays, is to avoid clicking ads on any social media platform and just search for the item on the website on your own. That way you know that you're in the right place. Sometimes these ads are really sophisticated and they will use legit photographs from a company, even using the logos, and they will still be fake. So just better off to avoid social media ads this holiday season.

When shopping online, make sure that you're using the most secure payment methods that you can. Always shop with credit cards or secure payment options like PayPal. Please, in 2024, do not use your debit card, well, really anywhere. These methods offer better fraud protection than credit cards. Plus, review your statements to look for any sort of sneaky charges. And don't look for the most expensive charge because scammers know that that's where you're gonna look first.

So they will make mundane charges of 20, 30, 50, 80 dollars just to see if they can slip it by you. Alternatives to using your credit card online are PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Venmo, and Zelle. These are easier to use than typing in your credit card number anyway.

If you're going to buy gift cards this year, I strongly suggest that you consider using digital cards that can be emailed or printed for you to give out. In the last year, stealing gift card numbers off the racks at stores like Walgreens and Walmart have become much more commonplace. In fact, earlier this year, I got an Apple gift card that didn't work. Even though the store said it was good, they sold it to me. When I went to redeem it, it failed.

I had to work with the store that I bought it from to resolve the issue, and the store actually had to make a case with Apple, and it took about a month and a half for me to get my money back. So if you do buy a physical gift card for somebody, make sure you keep all of the physical receipts because you'll have to show all of them to prove that you were not the scammer. That's why it may be easier for you to get one from a store's website instead of from the actual store off the rack.

The next thing I'm going to share with you isn't necessarily holiday related, but I'm seeing an uptick of it right now and this is just something that's happening. But you'll get these text messages from a number that you don't know that says, "I'm busy, talk later?" Or it's something that's going to try to entice you to reply back. Now I'm getting these and I'm not sure exactly which scam that it is. It might be something small or it might be the start of a pig butchering scam.

I don't know because I don't reply. And I don't suggest you do either. Getting a message that seems to be in the middle of a conversation from an unknown number is a red flag. So don't respond and just block that number.

If you are listening to this show, then chances are you're a savvy internet user who can spot pretty much all of these issues. But it's going to be harder for our parents and grandparents to spot these same scams. To their credit, scammers have really leveled up their game. It's hard to tell which ads are real or not on Facebook. It really is. We can't always rely on pixelated logos or even broken English to warn us anymore. So please share this information with your older loved ones.

I know of family friends who have lost tens of thousands of dollars to scammers. Not only do these people lose their money, but they also lose their confidence. I feel like the emotional consequences can be just as bad as a financial loss. It's crazy how that affects people. I know that your grandmother might not listen to my podcast, but if you go to TheSecureDad.com/Podcast, you'll find the article that accompanies this show. Feel free to email it to them or print it out and let them read it.

If you do this, come at it from the point of view that scammers have gotten really good, not that you think that they're out of touch and can't spot a scam. Just trying to give you a helpful tip there. How you approach helping somebody really, truly does matter.

Well, that wraps up this edition of The Secure Dad Podcast for today. Thank you, friend, for being a part of the show. Take back your privacy and personal data with help from DeleteMe. Get 20 percent off a privacy plan when using the code DAD at checkout. There's a link for you in today's show notes. Fortify your home with FlipLok. For more, go to FlipLok.com and use the discount code SECUREDAD to get 20 percent off your entire order. For more from The Secure Dad, visit TheSecureDad.Com.

There you'll find ways to protect your family at home, in public and online. Including The Secure Dad Holiday Gift Guide. I'm Andy Murphy reminding you that our safety is our own responsibility.