8 Tips to Protect Your Credit Card This Holiday Season

With the holidays just a couple of weeks away, now’s a great time to ensure you’re set up for efficient and secure online shopping as you check things off your to-do list.

We’ve partnered with Rakuten to give you the best shopping advice for this holiday season and year-round, so you can shop like a pro with Cash Back savings and peace of mind. Before you head to checkout, read up on these smart tips to protect your credit card and personal information.

1. Don’t store cards in browsers or online accounts

Shopping online involves a lot of tedious forms, which means a lot of repetitive typing as you fill out your name, address, phone number, email, and more with every single purchase you make. LastPass Form Fill saves time by filling all that for you. Storing and encrypting your credit cards with LastPass means you don’t need to put your credit cards at risk by storing that information in your web browser or your online accounts.

2. Shop at familiar companies, or research well

If it’s your first time shopping with a vendor, conduct some research to ensure it’s a legitimate seller. Look for merchant reviews online or ask for feedback amongst your trusted peers. Look for social proof of an unfamiliar vendor by searching for them on Facebook or Twitter to see how legitimate they are. Familiarize yourself with the vendor’s refund policy and contact information, and look at the privacy policy to understand how your information may be used.

3. Look for a locked HTTPS connection

Before entering your personal or financial information on a website, ensure the website is using a secure connection with SSL. LastPass Form Fill warns you before entering information on a non-HTTPS site. You can also look in the browser’s URL bar to see if there’s a padlock showing and if the web address begins with HTTPS, which confirm that you have a secured connection on that website. Using a secured connection ensures your data is transferred safely when you make a purchase.

4. Give as little personal information as you can

Many websites won’t let you checkout without confirming some personal details. Choose the option to checkout as a “guest” when you can, or ensure you only fill out the required fields and nothing more. Understand what information they’re asking for and how that data may be used according to their privacy policy. If a website makes it optional to store your credit card, don’t keep it on file. The less information the website stores about you, the less there is at risk of being leaked in the case of a data breach.

5. Create a strong, random password when you register

Every single online account you sign up for should have a different password. When using a password manager like LastPass, it’s easy to create a new password with the LastPass Password Generator as you’re registering for a new online account. You can also login to existing online accounts and update old passwords at any time. Since LastPass does the remembering for you, you don’t have to worry about forgetting any of those new passwords – even if you don’t shop at those sites again for a year or more.

6. Keep an eye on credit card statements

As soon as your credit card statements are available, review them for any unauthorized charges. If you print receipts from online purchases or save the records sent via email, it’s easier to compare your bank statements against your online purchases. If there’s any discrepancy, it’s best to contact your bank and report the issue immediately.

7. Only connect with secure Wi-Fi

As you’re submitting your personal and financial information online, it’s important to use an Internet connection that you know is secured. Even if you’re connecting to the website via HTTPS on an open network, it’s much easier to be tricked or phished into revealing passwords, credit cards, and other personal information you submit to a website. You don’t know how well the hotel or cafe secured their open WiFi, so it’s better to leave any transactions and sensitive account logins for later.

8. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is

It’s thrilling to chase those great deals, especially on Cyber Monday, but be wary of anything that sounds too good to be true. Cyber criminals try to lure shoppers with unbelievable prices, fantastic rebates, or free promotions, including mobile apps that claim to give you perks like free texts or calls in exchange for logging in or posting something. Unsolicited emails, texts, calls, or social media messages could be an attempt to get you to hand over an account login or credit card information. When in doubt, play it safe.

Shop smarter this year with Rakuten!

Earn Cash Back on every gift on your list, including LastPass! Sign up for a LastPass plan with Rakuten and get up to 20% Cash Back towards your Big Fat Check. If you’re not yet a member, join Rakuten for free, and earn a $10 Welcome Bonus on your first qualified purchase. Plus, save at all the top holiday stores like Walmart, Macy’s, Best Buy, and more.