Cybersecurity Awareness During the Holidays

Ah, the holidays, a season for sharing, celebrating, and spending time with loved ones. Without a doubt, the holidays are also the time where economic activity is at its peak. With the advent of online shopping—which is not a new thing before the pandemic hit but was probably institutionalized by it—the holidays are also the time where digital fraudsters are working overtime to pull a fast one over you and part you from your hard-earned money. In this article, our IT Solutions expert shall discuss some tips and Houston cybersecurity solutions to prevent fraud when shopping during the holidays.

Houston Cybersecurity Solutions: Detecting Credit Card Skimming and Credit Card Fraud Prevention

Credit card skimming is a fraud perpetrated by stealing credit card details and PIN numbers when a victim uses a card at a tampered atm or point of sales systems at stores. Machines that can siphon credit card details and keypads that log PIN entries, are placed on top of legitimate atm and POS systems. Watch out for ATMs and POS systems that look tampered, bulky, or unnatural, especially at smaller shops and obscure convenience stores. Our corporate cybersecurity expert suggests closely monitoring your credit card transactions to detect if one of your credits cards are compromised.

Spoof Websites, Phishing, Identity Theft and Houston Cybersecurity Solutions To Preempt Them

Spoof websites are sites designed to mimic legitimate commerce sites so that unsuspecting users will provide their credit card details and other personal details when checking out. These spoof websites are often promoted as pop-up ads or banner and marquee ads that will drive you to the scam site when you click on them. Once sensitive information is provided, the fraudsters can use them for credit card fraud or identity theft. Our IT solutions expert recommends examining the URL of shopping websites for the following:

• Website address should start with https, which indicates that it uses encryption when transferring data and offers protection from hackers.
• Visit the social media accounts of the brand and if it links to a different site then the site you are on is probably spoofed.
• Watch out for wrong grammar in the captions.
• If the prices look too good to be true, then it probably is.

Houston Cybersecurity Solutions Company That Cares for You

Here at BHT, we believe in making a positive impact on how people utilize cyber technology. Aside from educating people on cybersecurity and providing tips on making their interface with technology more secure, we have specialized in providing IT Solutions that are user-centric, easy to use, and responsive to the needs of our clients. Make technology work for you. With our help, you can have cost-effective, personalized, customer-oriented, and secure IT solutions that will grow your business to new heights. Call us now and schedule your free 1-hour consultation.