Shopping safety with holidays approaching
By Ashley Luthans
Whether you’re shopping in person or online this holiday season, keeping your purchases and financial information safe requires attention.
When out in stores, make sure to keep your belongings close, not allowing them to leave your sight. Frank Till, executive director of the St. Joseph Safety Council, advises women to keep purses zipped and close to themselves, and men to keep wallets in a front pocket.
Rylie Boyer said that she keeps her important items close to her when shopping.
“I don’t put anything in the cart with me that’s personal,” Boyer said. “I don’t put my phone in there, I don’t put my wallet and purse in there. I keep them on me and in my pocket.”
Till also suggests that people do not shop alone.
“I advise you shop with other people,” Till said. “Don’t go out by yourself. Stay close to somebody else so you guys can watch each other.”
When leaving stores, focus on what’s going on around you.
“Be aware of your surroundings,” Till said. “When you’re going out to your car, once you get to the door of the store, kind of look around and if something doesn’t feel right, then don’t go out. And maybe ask a store employee to have someone escort you out to your vehicle.”
With many people shopping online, Till offers some targeted safety tips.
First, it’s crucial to make sure the websites being used are reliable.
“We want to make sure we’re using a good, reputable online site,” Till said. “We need to check spellings of our websites because often scammers will have a website that looks identical to the one we’re going to, but it may be one letter off or slightly different spelling.”
Till also said shoppers should not use public Wi-Fi, as that can make it easier for people to steal financial information.
“Use a VPN or a hotspot or from your own network at home because all that information is out there on a public Wi-Fi and someone might be able to grab it up,” Till said.
