Stay Safe This Holiday Shopping Season 

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but it’s also when cybercriminals are on the prowl, looking to scam holiday shoppers. To help you stay safe while shopping online, we’ve put together some essential tips and an important resource to protect yourself: Credit IQ. 

Protect Your Credit with Credit IQ 

Consider enrolling in Credit IQ, a free credit monitoring tool available through the Arkansas Federal App. Credit IQ helps you keep track of your credit score and alerts you to any unexpected changes, allowing you to stay informed about your financial health. 

With Credit IQ, you can: 

• Monitor Credit Inquiries: Keep track of who is accessing your credit report. 

• Understand Your Score: Get a clear picture of your credit score and learn about the factors that affect it. 

• Review Payment History: See your payment history at a glance. 

• Receive Personalized Tips: Get tailored advice on how to improve your credit score, helping you make better financial decisions. 

Best of all, it’s completely free for all our members! Log in and enroll in seconds. 

Stay Secure While Shopping 

As you enjoy your holiday shopping, keep these tips in mind to protect yourself: 

1. Never click on links in emails. If you want to shop at a site, enter that site address in your browser. There are thousands of fake sites that look almost identical to the real thing. Don’t fall for evil twin shopping sites.  

2. Check the sites you go to carefully. Make sure the website domain is spelled correctly and contains “https.”  

3. Beware of social media offers. Don’t assume because a company is advertising on Facebook that they are legitimate! Many scammers create fake pages and sponsor their posts to appear credible.  

4. Don’t open attachments with special offers. It’s a classic scam. The offer should be in the email, and you should be able to see it right away.  

5. Watch for malicious ads and popups. Do not click on ads that sound too good to be true, and ignore popups that might propose the “best deal ever.”  

6. Beware of e-skimmers. I’m sure you’ve heard of bad guys sometimes skimming credit cards at gas stations or ATMs, but did you know they now have ways to do this online?  It’s true. The shopping website you order from might be infected with an “e-skimmer,” and they steal your card data when you check out. You can prevent that by using PayPal or Amazon.  

7. Do not shop over a public Wi-Fi network. You simply don’t know if it’s secure and who is listening. Only shop using a secure, trusted network. If you have no other way to shop, use a VPN which encrypts your traffic.  

8. Be careful when you see a free offer during the holidays. There is an explosion of all kinds of survey fraud and gift card scams.  

9. Do not re-use any of your passwords. Instead, use a password manager to create hard-to-break passwords. Re-using any password makes it easier for hackers to access your account. 

10. Keep a close eye on your credit card and bank accounts. During this season, unexpected and strange charges might appear, which could very well be the first sign your card or even your whole identity has been stolen. If you think you might have been scammed, stay calm and call the issuing financial institution for the card or account that may have been compromised. You can use services like Credit IQ to monitor your credit score for any unexpected changes, and even control your cards in just a few taps with My Cards.

11. Be especially suspicious of gift card scams. They can be a perfect holiday gift, but gift card scams are skyrocketing. Only buy gift cards from trusted sources. 

Stay Vigilant 

Let’s shop safe and prevent the bad guys from exploiting your holiday spirit. Remember to stay alert when you shop online and use Credit IQ to help keep a close eye on your credit. We’re here to help. Call us with questions or concerns at 1-800-456-3000.