Cyber Monday — the term coined for the first Monday after Thanksgiving, when consumers are expected to shop online en masse for holiday deals — is two days away.
Many of those transactions require inputting credit or debit card information and other personal data online.
The National Retail Federation estimates holiday sales this year will total about $586.1 billion, a 4.1 percent increase over last year. Of those holiday sales, $96 billion may be done over the Internet, 12 percent more than in 2011, the trade association said.
http://liarcatchers.com/identity_theft_investigation.html
Whether consumers are shopping online during Cyber Monday or any other time of year, officials say consumers should protect themselves against the potential of identity theft.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, 7 percent of U.S households, about 8.6 million, had at least one member age 12 or older who was the victim of identity theft in 2010, the most recent year for which data is available. Of those households, 64.1 percent experienced the misuse or attempted misuse of credit card information.
The bureau defines identity theft as the unauthorized use or attempted use of credit cards, existing accounts such as checking accounts, or the misuse of personal information to obtain new accounts or loans or to commit other crimes.
One way personal information may be stolen is over unsecure Wi-Fi connections, according to the Federal Communications Commission.
Wi-Fi networks, which many consumers use to shop, enable wireless connection to the Internet by extending broadband service in a home, or by connecting to so-called hot spots in public places such as coffee shops, hotels and airports, the FCC said in a release.
“In using these networks,” the FCC said, “it is important to understand that information being transmitted over them can potentially be intercepted if the networks are not secure.”
The FCC said consumers should be aware of whether they are using a secure (encrypted) or unsecure (unencrypted) network.
Encrypted information is encoded so it cannot be easily deciphered if intercepted.
When using an unencrypted network, consumers should be particularly cautious about sending sensitive information — whether that network is in a home or public space.
To turn on encryption, consumers should check instructions that came with their wireless router.
“If your computer and router will support it, WPA2 is the most effective encryption standard for Wi-Fi,” the agency said.
Activating the firewall on a home’s wireless router is another way to prevent unauthorized people from accessing the network.
It’s also a good idea to change the router’s default password, as many wireless routers come with default passwords others might know or be able to figure out easily.
“Change the password to your router to a unique combination of letters, numbers and symbols that only you know in order to ensure that you will be the only one who holds the keys to your router,” the FCC said.
The Ulster County Consumer Affairs Division offers tips on how to create secure Internet passwords.
“One of the problems with computer passwords is that users forget them,” said Patrick Long, senior consumer advocate for the division, in a written release. “In an effort not to forget them, they use simple things like their dog’s name, children’s names, birth dates, etc.”
Long said, for a potential identity thief, this is the equivalent of locking the front door and leaving the key under the doormat.
He said in order to create a secure password:
• Do not use personal information, like names and birthdays.
• Do not use real words.
• Mix letters, numbers and symbols.
• Use a different password for each application that requires one.
• Change the password at least every 30 to 60 days, and don’t reuse a password for at least a year.
A victim of identity theft may file a complaint with the local police department.
However, those cases can sometimes be difficult to solve because of jurisdictional issues, Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Capt. John Watterson said.
The FCC said if consumers are using an unsecure Wi-Fi network, they should determine if the website they are on is encrypted by looking for the letters “https” — the “s” stands for secure — at the beginning of the Web address, and a lock icon at the bottom or top of the browser’s window.
Also, if consumers are in a public Wi-Fi area, but not using the Internet, they may want to disable their wireless connection by either removing the external Wi-Fi card or clicking on the internal connection to turn it off.
