It’s time to start your online holiday shopping, and what could be more convenient than sitting in your favorite Wi-Fi coffee shop while you work your way through your gift list? But if you aren’t careful you could end up an online identity theft victim instead of everyone’s favorite Santa.

Fortunately, you can protect yourself from online identity theft with these five simple steps:

• Secure your Internet connection: Be sure your software firewall is on, and your file sharing is off.
• Shop on only secure sites: You can determine whether a site is secure by looking for the padlock icon in the bottom right corner of your browser page. Look for the https (instead of http) in the site’s URL; the “s” stands for secure.
• Watch for shoulder surfers: Coffee shops are often jam-packed during the holiday season, making it easy for shoulder surfers to go undetected. Stay aware of your surroundings and shield your card and screen before you enter you credit card number into any website.
• Use secure passwords: Passwords should be at least eight characters long, and a combination of numbers, symbols, and upper and lower-case letters that create an easily remembered phrase. (Example: “!H8vmprs” for I hate vampires) Use a unique password for every site and change them at least annually.
• Don’t be fooled by phishing: Never click on a link or reply to any email that requests your personal or financial information. No matter how official an email looks, no government agency, financial institution or retailer is going to ask for this information in an email.

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