Cyber Monday: Tips for Safeguarding Personal Information

Original release date: December 2, 2019

Cyber Monday draw millions of shoppers online for deals and savings, but this day also provides opportunities for an attacker to steal personal information. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) reminds users to remain vigilant when browsing or shopping online.

CISA encourages Cyber Monday shoppers to review the following online shopping safety tips:

• Do business with reputable vendors. Before providing any information, make sure that you are interacting with a reputable, established vendor. Some attackers may try to trick you by creating malicious websites that appear to be legitimate, so you should verify the legitimacy before supplying any information. (See Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks.)
• Use caution with email links and attachments. Take appropriate precautions when using email and web browsers to reduce the risk of an infection. Be wary of unsolicited email attachments and avoid clicking on email links, even if they seem to come from people or businesses you know. (See Using Caution with Email Attachments.)
• Pay using a credit card. There are laws to limit your liability for fraudulent credit card charges, but debit cards may not have the same level of protection.
• Ensure your information is encrypted. Check website URLs to ensure they begin with “https:” (instead of “http:”) accompanied by a padlock icon to verify that the site is secure.

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