As we head into the holiday season, you’ve probably had enough stress in 2020. But wait––yet another wrench has been thrown in this challenging year! Fraud has spiked during the pandemic, with criminals upping their game as consumers swing into holiday shopping mode. Read on for five powerful fraud-fighting tips to help you break out of the 2020 doldrums and end the year with a little less stress!
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Like COVID, Fraud Is Rampant
The fraud problem has gone viral – consumers have filed more than 130,000 reports of fraud to the FTC and have lost $182 million to these activities during the pandemic. UK Finance reports over £27 million was lost to fraud at online marketplaces and auction websites in the first half of 2020. Just as COVID has dramatically impacted our shopping habits, it’s affected our financial safety, too.
- Payment card fraud, identity theft, account takeover and digital payment fraud have all increased significantly since March 2020.
- COVID-related scams are rampant and rapidly evolving.
- When it comes to holiday shopping, criminals are primed to jump into the fray to perpetrate fraudulent transactions, hoping they’ll pass as legitimate; a recent survey led by Pitney Bowes found that 57% of consumers plan to shop online more this year. Meanwhile, 45% of consumers say they already do more than half of their current shopping online–nearly three times pre-pandemic.
With that in mind, there are actions you can take right now to protect yourself from fraud and identity theft.
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It Pays to Protect Yourself
“When it comes to financial fraud, such as account takeover, banks are on your side,” said Liz Lasher, vice president of Fraud, Financial Crime and Cyber Risk Portfolio Marketing at FICO. “However, prevention is critical, particularly when it comes to identity theft, because the clean-up can be quite difficult and messy, and recovering stolen funds can be a tedious, months-long process.
“Credit card fraud is more quickly resolved, but you may still have to go through the hassle of having transactions declined and filing a fraud claim with your bank or card provider. At the other end of the spectrum, scams, or as the industry calls it ‘authorized push payment fraud’ can have traumatic, long-term effects. It occurs when you, the consumer, approve a transaction, and you are most often held liable for the payment. In this instance, banks will not always foot the bill for damages.
“To reduce your risk of being a victim of any of these crimes, here are my five top tips to protect yourself against fraud this holiday season.”
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