Don’t Use Free Wi-Fi Connections To Make Holiday Purchases

The holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year for scammers. Here is a tip to protect yourself during this year’s holiday shopping season:

Do not use public Wi-Fi to make purchases using your credit card, or to check your bank account information. Using free Wi-Fi can lead to identity theft.

Free Wi-Fi hotspots are available in more locations than ever. Many shopping centers, restaurants, airports and train stations are now connected to public Wi-Fi. However, most people are unaware of the dangers of free Wi-Fi. The Norton Security Software Company conducted a recent survey and discovered that the great majority of people have used free internet hotspots to make credit card purchases or to log on to their bank accounts.

This is extremely dangerous because hackers can easily access your credit card, passwords and banking information through these public Wi-Fi connections. Some hackers have been known to even set up free hotspots for the sole purpose of stealing this information.

To stay safe, it is best to make your online holiday purchases using secure internet connections at home. Avoid using free public Wi-Fi to access any kind of personal financial information whenever possible.

We hope you are finding our consumer alerts useful. And, as always, if you know someone who is struggling with overdue debts, please have them call us for a bankruptcy consultation at 212-315-3755.