The holiday season puts shoppers at risk for identity theft. A new cross-cut shredder is essential to protect yourself, experts said. Experts said straight cut shredders aren’t good enough anymore.
"If someone wanted to take the time they could lay the pages down and tape them together to find out what was on it. Cross cut shredders make it impossible to put those pieces of paper back together," Melissa Allums of the Orange County Consumer Fraud Unit said.
Experts also said not to pay bills using your mailbox — a red flag says there is something in the mailbox, so take mail to the post office. When shopping online, shop only at Web sites that are familiar to you and sites that are secured. Experts also advise using only one credit or debit card when shopping so you only have one to keep track of and protect. Identity thieves can also hover over your shoulder to catch a snapshot of your credit card.
"Yes, they do. And that’s why a lot of people say ‘I don’t know where my credit card was taken. I’ve always had possession of it.’ They don’t have to have possession of it anymore," Allums said.
Lastly, experts said shoppers are better off using a credit card instead of a debit card because with a debit card the money is coming directly out of a checking account. "If you use your debit card, that money is gone, so then they will do an investigation and decide if they are going to put the money back, but in the meantime you don’t have the money," Allums said.
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