ROCHESTER, N.Y. — As many as 80% of Americans did at least some of their holiday shopping online this year. But before you go back for that second helping of pie, now is the time to protect your identity.
Each gift so prettily trimmed beneath your tree may represent another chance for a crook to crash your Christmas. That’s because every time you type in the numbers of your credit or debit card, cyberthieves are lying in wait, hoping to hack the systems and software where those numbers are stored.
“Everybody is sort of aware of this increase in scams throughout the year, but at the holiday season it can really feel like it’s ramping up,” said Margaret Poe, Head of Consumer Credit Education at TransUnion.
That’s why now is the time to protect yourself by freezing your credit with all three credit bureaus.
“And what this does is it prevents anyone other than you from taking out an account in your name,” Poe said.
Deanna Dewberry, News10NBC: “And a lot of people think that freezing and unfreezing your credit is a lot of hassle. It used to be. It is no longer, right?”
Margaret Poe: “Yeah exactly. It’s super easy. You can do it completely online; it just takes a couple of minutes. If you do need any help, you can call in and get some support.”
You just go to each bureau’s website and click “add freeze.” First step – type in your information. Second step – create an account. And thirdly, answer a couple of questions to verify your identity.
Deanna Dewberry: “Getting your credit report is also free and easy. Should you be checking your credit report pretty regularly especially during this season when you’re online shopping quite a bit?”
Margaret Poe: “Definitely. And you can get your credit report from all three bureaus as well. And you can do that at annualcreditreport.com.”
Pay no attention to that unfortunate website name. The old rules said you could only get a free credit report annually. Now it’s once a week.
TransUnion is now offering another free product called Credit Essentials.
“You just put in a little bit of information. You don’t need a credit card and you’ll be able to see your Vantage Score as well as your credit report. And that way you know exactly where you stand today,” Poe said.
Equifax and Experian have a similar tool.
Consumer Alert: Did your holiday shopping online? Protect yourself from I.D. theft WHEC.com.
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