As you shop for gifts online this holiday season, the Indiana Department of Revenue (IDOR) is urging Hoosiers to take steps to be cyber safe and protect your identity online.
IDOR is partnering with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to encourage online shoppers to be extra vigilant to help protect their important financial data.
The IRS and IDOR offer a variety of tips to help individuals protect themselves while shopping online, including:
- Use a credit card for online shopping. Never use a debit card to make purchases online. If you encounter fraudulent charges on your debit card, it’s not always possible to get a refund. Most credit card issuers offer greater protection against fraudulent charges.
- Be very cautious of “free offers” during the holidays. During this time of the year, there’s a spike in all types of survey fraud and gift card scams.
- Avoid unprotected Wi-Fi. Unprotected, public Wi-Fi hotspots may allow cybercriminals to view transactions and sensitive information.
- Shop at familiar online retailers. Generally, sites with the “s” designation in “https” at the start of the URL are secure. Be sure to also look for the “lock” icon in the browser’s URL bar.
- Learn to recognize and avoid phishing emails. Look for misspellings and bad grammar. Never click on links or attachments from unknown or suspicious sources and remember, neither IDOR nor the IRS use emails to send or request sensitive information.
- Use strong and unique passwords. Be sure to use different passwords for each account and use a password manager if necessary. Experts suggest a minimum of 10 characters.
- Use multi-factor authentication. If it is offered, set up your multi-factor authentication for accounts. This means that users may need a security code, usually sent as a text to a mobile phone, in addition to usernames and passwords.
To learn more about how to prevent identity theft, visit www.dor.in.gov.
