Keep Your Wallet & Identity Safe This Holiday Season

The holiday season is among us! With all the hustle and bustle of gift buying, celebration and decoration, it can be easy to get caught up in the holidays. One thing many people don’t consider during the holidays (and who can blame them) is the increased risk of identity theft, and of theft in general.

Thieves know that during the holiday season, shoppers are out in the highest numbers of the year making purchases for standard goods as well as gifts. This creates many opportunities for thieves including increased absence from home, more receipts to steal information from, and more goods to target.

Thankfully, there are things you can do to minimize the risk of identity theft, or becoming targeted by a common thieve, from ruining your holiday season;

  • Think through the situation with your spare key. Thieves know the most common places for these. Try to avoid putting a key in easily accessible and common locations (doormat, flower pot etc.)
  • Keep track of your wallet / purse. Shopping centers are at their busiest this time of year; prime time for pick pocketing. Keep track of your purse, and make sure your wallet is not easily accessible while in the shopping crowds.
  • Keep your receipts until you are able to shred them. Do not put any receipts in the recycling without first shredding them. Receipts contain valuable information that can provide someone with the right knowledge with access to compromising information.
  • Use your credit card if and when possible. When using cheques and debit cards, your bank account becomes exposed. If you happen to use your card in a fraudulent machine, you might have a harder time getting money back. Credit cards do not withdraw funds from your bank account, nor do they expose your bank account. You might also have more time to catch fraudulent transactions with credit cards as opposed to debit / cheques.
  • Following the holidays, keep a close eye on your statements when they come in. Because people do a significant amount of shopping in the holiday months, statements can be long, and fraudulent transactions can slip through the cracks. Pay close attention, even if your statement is unusually long from holiday shopping.
  • Be extra careful shopping online. Be sure to check the website reputation and security credentials. And remember; if you see a deal which is too good to be true, it probably is!

Don’t let your identity fall victim to identity theft. Take precaution this holiday season to ensure that it is as happy and memorable as ever!

From all of us at Shred-A-Way, have a very happy holiday season!

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