9 Tech Safety Tips for the Holidays

Security Tips: Support Scams

Support scams occur year-round, but will peak during the Christmas season.

Scammers can telephone to offer additional services or pretend there is a security problem with your bank account. If someone asks you for your email details, credit card details or any personal information, be suspicious because that information is already available to a bank or is not necessary to solve a problem with any contracted service.

Phishing

It is very common that emails come to us offering some kind of special promotion, inviting us to click on a link. You should never click on an email link if the sender is not trusted.

This is the number one reason why email accounts are made, avoid it.

Public WiFi

Public WiFi can be a good way to save money, but it is also a very insecure connection.

Criminals can create malicious access points from poorly configured WiFi and track everything you do on the Internet. This is dangerous if you access your bank account online or your Paypal style digital money account. Avoid doing any kind of operation from a public WiFi.

System and software patch

Make sure that the operating system you are using has the latest updates installed. Not only must the system be up-to-date, the browser you use must also be up-to-date.

Ad blockers

Using an ad blocker like AdBlock or uBlock is an important measure to avoid advertising that tries to install some kind of application on our computer. Avoid installing any application that comes in the form of an ad that you haven't opened.

Two-factor authentication (2FA)

2FA or Two Factor Authentication, is when you need your password in addition to a code that is normally delivered to a 'token' or via text message to your phone. It is better to use a token, but service providers often use text messages.

On this site we can see how to activate 2FA in most of the most important sites.

Check the status of your card

Check your credit card and bank statements. You should be doing this year-round, not just on vacation.

Look for unfamiliar charges, or small charges, at places you normally shop. When testing a card, criminals sometimes make a small purchase, usually less than $ 10, since those things aren't marked, and people usually don't notice them.

RFID protection

RFID cards, sometimes with the name of PayPass, Blink, ExpressPay or PayWave, allow us to load things with a quick touch of the card at the payment terminal.

These RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) cards have a chip that criminals with a reader can scan, allowing them to capture the data on your card.

Currently there are RFID card protectors that are sold in specialized stores and that are very cheap.

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EMV cards

If your card has a chip like the one shown in this picture, please note that this is different from RFID cards.

EMV's goal was to reduce card fraud in the United States, but it is not a foolproof system. One of the biggest problems is that some retailers still don't support EMV. If you are going to pay with one of these cards, make sure that the transaction is credit and not debit.