LEXINGTON, Ky. — The holiday season provides the perfect time to relax, reconnect with family and friends, and drink a steaming cup of cocoa by the fire. However, it also presents a new landscape online that can be difficult to navigate.
Kakie Urch, an associate professor in the School of Journalism and Media in the University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information, has important advice on protecting yourself and others online this holiday season.
- Don’t post large gift items. This year, we all have new phones or 4K TVs on our wish lists. Urch’s best advice is NOT to post photos of those big-ticket gifts. Posting photos of these items makes them “available” to everyone who sees them on social media and makes your home a target.
- Wait to post. If you don’t post it, did it even happen? If you are going out of town, Urch urges you to wait until you are safely home to post photos or status updates. It can seem less fun and spontaneous for people trying to maintain their feeds, but if you post them while you are away, people know your home is unprotected. The same concept goes for tagging locations in your posts.
- Be aware of charity scams. It’s the season of giving and everyone wants to help others. However, beware of appeals from scam donation centers. Do your research and make sure wherever you give is a valid source.
- Be careful about scanning QR codes. Some scammers will use QR codes to put malware on your phones to access your data and location.
- Double and triple-check. When entering your credit card information anywhere, ensure the Wi-Fi and the website are secure. Urch also suggests giving the gift of an identity theft protection plan. To ensure that the website is secure, confirm that the website has “https” at the beginning. Your Wi-Fi needs to have a virtual private network (VPN). Urch also advises against using Wi-Fi in airports or any wireless that’s not a dedicated, private line locked to you.
- Be aware of your surroundings. Sometimes, the door to electronic crimes is opened with a physical crime. If someone steals your wallet, they can easily steal your online presence.
- Be cautious with Facebook marketplace. Everyone is looking to find a great deal — and Facebook marketplace has many of them. If you do decide to go this route to purchase your gifts, make sure you don’t go alone and are clear on the item you are getting. Furthermore, you should be equally as cautious as a seller. Always have someone accompanying you when a buyer is picking up an item that you sold.
- Online Russian roulette. When purchasing items online, beware of counterfeit products. Urch says if a deal looks too good to be true, it most likely is.
- Be kind. The holidays are already a stressful time for everyone — be kind. Urch urges everyone to be considerate when posting on social media. One of Urch’s rules of thumb is “When in doubt, leave it out.” If you are unsure whether you should post a photo of someone else’s kids or the interior of their house, leave it out.
- Watch out for AI-generated calls, websites and photos. You may get calls from AI (artificial intelligence) using the voice of your relatives asking for money for bail, food, or because their car broke down. Urch suggests establishing a passcode in the family to ask for during these calls to avoid scams. Be aware that with AI it has become much easier for scammers to create fake websites and images to steal your money.
- Keep your online accounts private and secure. You want to ensure your passwords are fresh, unique and not easily guessable — even by an AI machine. Make sure they have a mix of characters, numbers and icons. Urch also suggests making your social media accounts private. “You don’t need those extra 100,000 eyeballs.”
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