JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Cyber Monday starts tomorrow and the National Retail Federation says it’s expected to be record-shattering, surpassing last year’s sales of over $10.8 billion.
With millions shopping online, scammers and hackers will be browsing the web to steal your personal information, too.
“These people practice the psychology of manipulating people that come to their websites to buy things because that’s how they make money,” said Chris Hamer, a cybersecurity expert.
Hamer suggests keeping your guard up while shopping.
“There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch. So, if it’s too good of a deal to be true, it’s not true.”
In 2020, the FTC got more than 2.2 million reports about fraud and people lost nearly $3.3 billion. The top fraud was imposter scams.
“A lot of them will use typosquatting where they will have a website or domain that looks similar to but it could be a minor difference,” Hamer added.
Here are some steps you can take to protect your information:
- Verify the website is legit
- Don’t use public internet
- Use credit cards instead of debit cards
- Check your statements often during the holiday season
If the National Retail Federation’s predictions are accurate nearly 2 million more people will participate in Cyber Monday tomorrow.