How to shop online safely this holiday season.

Cyber Monday is Nov. 30 – one of the busiest online shopping days of the year. Here are 6 tips for protecting your identity – and your bank account – this holiday shopping season.

Let’s face it – these days, many people do most of their shopping from the comfort of home. The world of online retail is brimming with great deals and discounts – and of course, free shipping!!

Unfortunately, for all its perks, online shopping also has its pitfalls. Unscrupulous vendors and identity thieves troll cyberspace for unknowing consumers, waiting for them to fall into avoidable traps that compromise their personal information.

This holiday season, remember: A password that can be remembered is a password that can be cracked. Your five- to 15-character password is all that stands between you and the criminals lurking in cyberspace. So take a few minutes to do a password checkup and ensure you follow these 6 tips for keeping your information safe online.

1. CREATE UNIQUE PASSWORDS FOR EACH APPLICATION

We are all suffering from information overload these days and it is tempting to simplify life by using the same username/password combination for multiple sites. But passwords are one situation where recycling is not a virtue. When you reuse the same password, you run the risk of giving cyber criminals carte blanche to run riot through your affairs. So DON’T use the same password for more than one purpose. Selecting unique passwords for your email, social media, banking and other online activities will help stop hackers in their tracks.

2. CHOOSE COMPLEX PASSWORDS

It’s human nature for us to base passwords on the meaningful words or events or relationships in our lives. It’s also a mistake. If your password can be found in a common dictionary, then it will never hold up against someone trying to crack it. DO NOT use your partner’s, pet’s, or child’s name. It’s the same information you share openly with friends and even complete strangers who might stumble across your Facebook, Twitter or Instagram accounts.

You may be surprised to learn that the top 5 most commonly used passwords are 123456, password, letmein, qwerty, and 1234567. Even creating a password that substitutes letters for symbols, like “@“ instead of “a” or “0” instead of “o” may not be safe. Instead, we suggest creating a wholly random string of letters, symbols and numbers to keep identity thieves in the dark.

3. KEEP A WATCHFUL EYE ON YOUR ONLINE ACCOUNTS

Don’t wait for your bank statements to arrive in the mail in order to review your account balances. Make it a habit, especially during the holiday season, to check your accounts using online banking every couple of days. Look for any unusual activity that you don’t recognize. If something stands out as fraudulent, call your bank immediately and have them address the issue right away.

4. ONLY SHOP ON SECURE SITES

If you do decide to wander off the beaten path in search of that great deal, make sure the site you’re visiting is secure. How? Look for an icon of a padlock, usually located beside the website address (URL). This is an indication that the website uses SSL (secure socket layer) to protect you – the consumer – when you purchase anything from that site.

5. DON’T SAVE PERSONAL INFORMATION TO WEBSITES

Ever click on “Save my Password” while in a browser? Although this appears to solve the problem of remembering you password, it’s also a great way to expose all your passwords to anyone who has access to your computer.

It may be convenient, but convenience is the enemy when it comes to passwords. Gaining access to saved passwords in the browser is dangerously easy. All it takes is to follow a few simple steps in the “inspect element” view to expose what was once a secure password.

6. WATCH YOUR PAPER TRAIL

Also be aware that a criminal’s first look at your sensitive personal information may come from the garbage you just tossed into a dumpster. Thieves are continuously prowling high-end neighbourhoods looking for information that has been disposed of improperly, such as billing information, financial statements, expired passports, and other pieces of ID. It might be in your trash or simply behind an unlocked door. In this case, a good shredder is your best friend.

A final thought: Treat passwords like your toothbrush. Don’t share them with anyone and make sure to change them every six months.

— Robert Di Manno, co-founder of Lockit Solutions Inc.

Lockit Solutions is a Canadian company that provides secure, cloud-based storage for your passwords, personal information and precious documents. Learn more about our Lockit Password Manager and Digital Safe.

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