Don’t Be Scrooged by Identity Theft While Holiday Shopping Online

17 Nov 2016, 06:02 AM CST

New LifeLock Survey Shows That a Third of Americans Are Planning
to Do All or Most of Their Holiday Shopping Online, but Are Still
Concerned about Identity Theft

80 percent of Americans plan to do at least some holiday
shopping online this year, with a third planning to do all or most of
it online
43 percent of online holiday shoppers* say they will most rely
on mobile devices to make purchases
Identity theft is still a concern for 71 percent of online
holiday shoppers* vs. 56 percent of non-online holiday shoppers
49 percent say that they would give up receiving presents this
holiday season if it meant their identity would not be stolen.

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#BlackFriday–One-third of shoppers plan to do all or most of their holiday shopping
online this year and 71 percent of online holiday shoppers* are
concerned about identity theft, according to a new survey¹
conducted online by Harris Poll and commissioned by LifeLock (NYSE:
LOCK), a leader in proactive identity theft protection.

Accordingly, many Americans seem to rank protecting their identities
ahead of partaking in holiday traditions with 49 percent saying that
they would give up receiving presents this holiday season if it meant
that their identity would not be stolen.

When asked about things that would ruin their holidays most, 50 percent
of Americans said it would be getting their identity stolen; 22 percent
said not being able to share the holidays with family and friends due to
unforeseen issues; 17 percent said not being able to afford presents for
their family and friends; and 11 percent said none of these situations
would ruin their holiday season.

While identity theft is a real threat to consumers, it doesn’t have to
ruin your holidays, according to Paige Hanson, LifeLock’s chief of
identity education. “In general, the more you do and share online, the
more your risk increases to be a victim of identity theft,” she said.
“But there are some simple things you can do to help protect yourself
whether shopping online or in stores.”

Here are five suggestions that can go a long way toward preventing
identity theft:

Keep a low profile. Be careful in giving out your
personal information to receive promotions and offers and don’t save
your credit card information on retailer websites, just in case the
retailer suffers a breach. You should also be sure that emails sent to
you with promotional links don’t point back to an altered link, often
with one or two letters missing or changed. This could signal a
phishing scam, designed to fool you into entering personal
information, like your credit card number or your email and password,
which may be used to compromise your identity.
Look for websites with the green padlock. Ideally,
you’re able to do all of your online shopping with familiar brands
that you already trust. When visiting any website, look for two signs
that help indicate that the site is secure: an icon of a locked green
padlock on the left side of the URL, and “https” in the Web address.
Upon checkout, do not submit your account information if the site does
not also ask for the CVV2 security code on the back of your card.
Pay with a credit card … or online/mobile payment.
Credit cards provide more protection when it comes to fraudulent
activity. You’re not held responsible for unauthorized credit card
purchases (beyond, in some cases, a $50 fee), but a thief armed with
your stolen debit card could wipe out your entire bank balance, at
least until an investigation is completed. Even better, use an online
or mobile payment service such as Apple Pay, Android Pay or PayPal.
Don’t use public Wi-Fi – free or paid. Use your cellular network
instead. No matter how trusted the source, don’t shop via a
public or unsecured Wi-Fi network – you have no idea who may be
lurking on it. And that includes paid Wi-Fi in airplanes and hotels as
well. Even a password-protected Wi-Fi network is only as safe as the
other users. A more secure option is to use your phone’s cellular
network, either on the device itself or as a hot spot for your laptop.
Remember that your phones and computers are also gateways to your
personal information, so make sure they are password-protected.
Watch your accounts closely. During high-volume shopping
periods like the holiday season, do a weekly recap of your purchases
and check your bank and credit card statements for unfamiliar charges
or activity. Better yet, set up text and email alerts to keep track of
your transactions. And make it a habit to update your account
passwords with unique ones.

* “Online holiday shoppers” means Americans who plan to do at least
some shopping online for the holidays

¹This survey was conducted online within the United
States by Harris Poll on behalf of LifeLock from October 20-24, 2016
among 2,001 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not
based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical
sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology,
including weighting variables, please contact media@lifelock.com.

About LifeLock

LifeLock, Inc. (NYSE:LOCK) is a leading provider of proactive identity
theft protection services for consumers and fraud and risk management
solutions for enterprises. LifeLock’s threat detection, proactive
identity alerts, and comprehensive remediation services help provide
peace of mind for consumers amid the growing threat of identity theft.
Leveraging unique data, science and patented technology from ID
Analytics, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary, LifeLock offers identity
theft protection that goes beyond credit monitoring. As part of its
commitment to help fight identity theft, LifeLock works to train law
enforcement and partners with a variety of nonprofit organizations to
help consumers establish positive habits to combat this threat.

Contacts

LifeLock
Sydney Brown, 415-767-7788
Media@lifelock.com