Naughty or Nice: How to Protect Yourself from Holiday Fraud

Tis’ the season to take advantage of special discounts and savings from your merchant partners. However, it is important to protect yourself and your business when shopping this holiday season. Check out these tips for banking and shopping smart this season and avoid that “lump of coal” feeling.

1. Regularly Monitor + Set Alerts on Your Financial Statements- As we get busy, it is easy to forget to review statements for suspicious activity. While it’s important to stay watchful, it’s even more important to arm your business with systems to mitigate fraud risk such as Capital Bank’s Treasury Management Services. For just $25 a month you can eliminate the high-cost of check and debit fraud with Positive Pay verification.

2. Purchase from Reputable Merchants- This is the time of year to take advantage of deals and discounts but watch out for “special promos” soliciting information or offering deals that are to-good-to be true. Be careful to read the fine print on promos and ensure merchant title’s match up. Fraudsters try to implement scams in the likeness of some vendors you may be more comfortable with. Pro-Tip: Scroll to read the online reviews of the business, not only can this help sniff out scammers but you might find some tips from businesspeople and consumers like you.

3. Don’t Click Unfamiliar Links- Unfamiliar links were likely not sent to you by one of Santa’s elves and could pose a security risk. Many cybercriminals use lookalike tactics to disguise themselves as a merchant you trust so ho-ho-hold off on clicking those links until you have completed this 3 second review that could save you some headache:

• Is this a company you have signed up to receive advertising from or purchased from in the past? If not, exercise caution.
• Look at the sender and ensure the sender email or URL matches the business being advertised and that your email as the recipient is a current or frequently used address.
• Scrutinize the subject line- you’re not a scrooge if you say BAH-HUMBUG to opening emails offering incentives that seem too good to be true.

4. TMI (Avoid Oversharing)- You may not be able to avoid a TMI moment with your family at Thanksgiving dinner but you can avoid sharing TMI or “too much information” with merchants. Avoid sharing personal information and encourage your employees (if applicable) to request only the minimum information needed to complete a purchase. While more information can sometimes be helpful, scammers often try to gather personal information disguised as necessary for the transaction. The simpler you can make your purchase policy, the less you look like a scammer and the easier the transaction is for your customer.

5. Make Technology Work for You- Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) to strengthen the security of your systems. Ensure your Capital Bank Positive Pay automated email fraud alerts are turned on and are routed to an email address you check frequently. Update the passwords your business uses for certain frequent purchases and ensure you have a different password for each site in case the site or password is compromised.

6. If Fraud Finds You, Act Fast- It’s important to act fast if you suspect fraud or realize you’ve been scammed. Your first step should be contacting the merchant, they may offer a money-back guarantee or be able to freeze or flag scammers accounts to prevent further fraud. Your next step should also be to contact your bank or credit card company to change login information and update accounts.

In some ways, the Grinch had it right to be suspicious an exercise caution when navigating the holidays. And by following these simple best practices you should expect to see your savings stay secure or hopefully grow by 3 sizes as well.