IDX’s CEO and President Tom Kelly appears in several interviews on holiday shopping scams

In recent interviews for FOX 4 Fort Myers, FOX 32 Chicago, Yahoo Finance, and more, president and CEO of IDX Tom Kelly discusses how to avoid holiday shopping scams this season.

Approximately 1 in 4 Americans has fallen victim to fraud during the holiday season. Hackers and scammers are growing more sophisticated and will use personal data they can find online to commit identity theft, steal your credit card information, and more. In his interviews, Tom discusses how holiday shopping scams are becoming more prevalent now than ever before. It’s up to consumers to be on guard against scammers this and every holiday season.

Tom ties the rise in holiday shopping scams to a surge in online shopping and digital exposure among consumers. Often, all a scammer needs to defraud you is information easily gleaned from your social media account. And with more Americans shopping online because of COVID-19, they are likely to be even more vulnerable.

Tom identifies phishing attacks as a particular threat this holiday season, with scammers posing as institutions such as FedEx, USPS, etc., and telling consumers they have a package delivery delayed or ready to pick up and asking them to click on malicious links. As Tom points out, any suspicious or strange email asking you to do anything is very likely a scam. “Be highly suspicious,” Tom says. And don’t click on any links from email accounts you’ve never seen before.

But there are a few ways to start protecting yourself right away. Tom shares how changing your password frequently, using two-factor authentication and a safe VPN when shopping can all help limit the risk of your security and information being compromised by a hacker or scammer.

This holiday season, we all have to remember to be vigilant when shopping online for holiday gifts. If you don’t protect yourself, you may be the next victim of a scam or hack. But the tools you need to safeguard your sensitive information and your identity are available to you. To learn more, visit www.idx.us. You can also view some other ways to stay safe here.