Protect yourself and know the signs

During the holiday season, we tend to make a lot more purchases online for travel and gifts, so it’s especially important to be vigilant about protecting your money. Here are some of the most common scams to watch for:

Fake websites and apps

Scammers often create fake websites that are so similar to the sites of popular retailers, it easily tricks consumers into providing payment information. The scammers take your information and your money, but you never receive the products. Scammers have also developed fake apps that contain malware. When you download the app, the malware steals personal information from your device or locks it, holding it for ransom until you pay the scammers. Other types of fraudulent apps ask you to login using your social media or email accounts that could expose your personal information for the scammers to steal.

Be careful of apps or websites that ask for suspicious permissions, such as granting access to your contacts, text messages, stored passwords, or credit card information. Also, poor grammar or misspelled words in an apps’ description or on a website is a red flag that it is not legitimate.