November 18, 2022

Unfortunately, the weather outside isn’t the only thing that’s frightful this time of year. Cyber-safety shouldn’t take a break when heading home for the holidays. With meals to plan and gifts to buy, the last thing you need is to lose money to a scam. Remember, cyber-attacks happen because criminals want your business financial details or sensitive personal data, like your bank account information or credit card information.

Here are three ways to avoid giving your hard-earned money to a scammer this holiday season.

Know how NOT to pay. 

Is someone asking you to pay with an iTunes or Amazon gift card or telling you to wire money through services like Western Union or MoneyGram? Don’t do it. Scammers ask you to pay in ways that let them get the money fast and make it nearly impossible for you to get it back. If you’re doing any holiday shopping online, know that many credit cards have fraud protection built in.
Spot imposters. 

Imposters will pretend to be someone you trust to convince you to send money or personal information. They might say you qualified for something free, but you must pay a fee to get it. Or they might send phishing emails that seem to be from your bank asking you to “verify” your credit card or checking account number. Don’t buy it.

Make sure your money goes to real charities.

Ebenezer Scrooge shows us year after year, the holidays are an important time to share with people in need. Unfortunately, sometimes charity scammers try to take advantage of your good will. Even when you’re donating to legitimate charities, it’s still important to make sure a charity will spend your donation the way you want it to. Always research a charity before you give.

Bottom line.

We hate to be a Scrooge, but Cybercrime doesn’t take the holidays off. Everyone should keep online safety in mind as 2022 comes to an end. We hope these tips will help you all enjoy a safer holiday season and a Happier New Year.

• Please click the “Report to THSpam” Phish Alarm button or forward all suspicious e-mails to THSpam@TriHealth.com. 
• Delete it from your mailbox
• Do not click any links in the e-mail
• Do not reply to the sender or agree to talk with the sender in any medium
• Do not forward to anyone else in the organization