How to protect yourself from cyber criminals this holiday shopping season

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - The holiday shopping season is already breaking records in 2024. Many people may look to purchase gifts online, or take advantage of deals; however, cybercrime also rises this time of year.

According to the FBI, in 2022 alone, more than 12,000 Americans lost upwards of $73 million to cyber scams while holiday shopping.

Yuliang Zheng is the Chair of the Department of Computer Science at UAB. He said every time you enter your ID online, you should be very careful.

If you’re shopping on an unfamiliar website, you want to double-check that it is legitimate. Try searching for the website and see if it comes up, or ask for a second opinion.

“I would recommend to people to look at search websites and talk to people. Like friends or colleagues before actually going to the website if it’s an unfamiliar website,” said Zheng.

If you want to reduce credit card harm, never save your number to a website or browser. Zheng said you can also get a temporary, one-time use number to use when buying online.

“On the next occasion when you’re buying another good, you get another number. So it’s like one time, use it, then throw it away,” said Zheng.

If you’re worried you have been a target of a data breach, monitor your credit card for any unauthorized activity and freeze your credit.

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