Stay a Step Ahead: Protect Yourself from Fraud and Identity Theft This Holiday Season

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The holiday season is a time for joy, connection and giving. Unfortunately, its also the season when people are most likely to fall victim to scams and fraud as fraudsters take advantage of the rush and generosity of the holidays. From phishing emails to hacking schemes, we are dedicated to helping you stay safe and secure.

In this article, we will explore how to protect yourself from various security threats including Identity theft, Account takeover, Phishing, Spoofing, Pretexting, SIM Swapping, and Unauthorized ports. To stay safe, its essential to understand what they threats are and how they work.

Let’s break them down:

Identity Theft – Occurs when someone uses your personal information to commit fraud such as opening financial accounts, purchasing goods and services, to seek medical care, and filing fraudulent tax returns for a refund.

How to protect yourself:

•  Store personal information in a safe place.
• Freeze and monitor your credit reports regularly.
• Use strong unique passwords
• Secure your SSN, only give It out when necessary.
• Don’t share personal information including: birthdate, ssn or bank account number
• Use a virtual private network VPN, if you’re using a public wifi network.
•  Shred documents that contain sensitive information.

     To learn more on how to report identity theft, please visit our Identity Theft page.

Account Takeover—Occurs when cyber criminal uses your personal information to gain access and take over your online accounts such as email or banking. This often leads to financial losses or data breaches. Cybercriminal can gain access to this information vial the Dark web, Phishing or Hacking.

How to protect yourself:

• Use strong Unique passwords
• Monitor your accounts closely for unfamiliar transactions or changes to account.
• Carefully guard your personal information.
• Enable multi-factor authentication for all of your accounts.

Phishing, Spoofing, Pretexting —Occurs fraudsters send fraudulent emails or messages impersonating trusted sources steal personal and sensitive information including credit card numbers, passwords, and banking information.

How to protect yourself:

• Verify source of email, text messages and links before clicking.
• Never click pop-up links.
•  Use a secure and safe web browser.
•  Use VPN while connected to public wifi networks.
•  Filter your email.

To learn more, please visit our Account security support page.

SIM Swapping and Unauthorized Ports –Occurs when criminals transfer your phone number to another sim card or to a completely different carrier to intercept calls and messages in order to access bank accounts or reset passwords, cutting off your access to important accounts.

How to protect yourself:

• Enable SIM protection (Verizon offers it free of charge This feature is available through the My Verizon website and My Verizon app. )
• Monitor accounts for unusual activity.
• Be suspicious of texts, emails and calls that require you to act urgently.
• Add a number lock to your plan.
•  Use strong and unique passwords.

To learn more please visit our SIM swapping and Unauthorized Port Outs support pages.

Understanding and recognizing these security threats is the first step to protecting and safeguarding yourself. By adopting the proactive measures mentioned, you can minimize your risk and keep your personal and financial information safe.

Happy Holidays🎄