During the Christmas season people are constantly trying to find gift ideas and even buy gifts online. Here are 12 cyber security tips to help you and your family over Christmas, rather than dealing with the scammers and get back your stolen identity like credit cards,

12 Ways on how you can protect yourself from Scams, and other cyber attacks this Christmas 

1. Watch out for fake websites

Although the internet has its own benefits, not everything on the web is what it seems. 

There are some scam websites which work in a wide variety of ways, from publishing misleading information to promising wild rewards in a financial exchange.

There are some tricks that you can use to keep yourself safe online.. Look out for https, you can also check if the website has the type of design skill and grammatical quality you would expect from a legitimatewebsite.

2. Always use credit cards for online purchases

Credit card is a safer way to make online purchases. As debit card is linked to your saving or current account, if a hacker got hold of your card your whole account will be drained. On other hand using a credit card it will not let any money drain out of your account.

3. Don’t trust your seller

Cybercriminals are experts when it comes to creating fake e-commerce sites and pages. Make sure to read reviews about the seller, look for aphysical location and any customer service information. If you’re in doubt it’s a good idea to call the seller directly.

4. Be Careful How You Pay

You should never pay for anything by direct bank transfer. If you transfer funds into a bank account and if that comes out to be a scam, you may never get the money back. Also always look out for padlock symbol‘s’ at the end of HTTP in the URL address bar.

5. Avoid using Public WIFI

Wi-Fi has made our lives a little easier, but it comes with its own set of risks. Hackers can easily hack your network if you don’t secure it. Always add an additional layer of security like multi factor authentication while you are using WIFI.

6. Think before you click

If you see random attachments, don’t open them at all. You never really know where they come from and who shares them, so unless they arrive from a source you can trust, ignore those. That’s why you need to check the source every time; because you need to be 100% sure you know where all these messages are coming from. Watch out for grammatical mistakes. 

7. Check if the deal is real

During the festive season cyber criminals share fake free deal on emails, messages, calls. Be aware that everything has a cost and nothing is free in this world. Such offers will ask to fill out your personal details and trick you to lose your identity.

8. Never Pay for a freebie

We all love getting things for free but you have to be careful when choosing which offers to sign up for or a scam could end up costing you way more than you bargained for.Sometimes freebie scams will want you to sign up for a “free trial offer” of one or several online services in order to get your freebie. Avoid these at all costs! At best you’ll never be able to get the free trial cancelled and at worst they steal your credit card information.

9. Keep everything up to date

It’s a very good idea to install all software patches available. They will protect your against any possible attacks and they will also deal with vulnerabilities or a variety of other problems. Most operating systems come with automatic updates, and you should also have updates for every software including email tools. Dedicated software patches can really help too. 

10. Monitor your bank transactions

Always look out of suspicious bank transactions happening. This happens a lot especially during festive season. Always check your credit card details and look out for your bank accounts. 

11. Be smart when it comes to Charity

It’s the most wonderful time of year for giving out gifts to the under privileged. There are many organizations to give to and many ways to donate whether you are considering giving on the phone, online, in-person, or postal mail.

Unfortunately, there are also plenty of options for scammers to trick you into giving your hard-earned money to them instead of a reputable, safe nonprofit. So always choose a known NGO before you transfer your money. 

12. Approach Season’s greetings emails with caution

There will be lot of emails flooding in to wish you merry Christmas. Cybercriminals will often send you spam cards, videos, and photos with Malware.

Lots of email programs are offering you the feature to download attachments automatically. It sounds great at first, but then you realize it’s not ok because some attachments can be full of malware. Disable that option right away 

So, this Christmas stay vigilant and watch out for any potential scams that may come your way.