With the first indications that the holiday 2009 season has the potential for another record year for online retail sales online, consumers should be aware of increased risk in cases of identity theft when shopping.
According to a recent survey by ProtectMyId.com, 75 percent of consumers feel more vulnerable to identity thieves when they shop online when compared to brick and mortar stores.
Respondents indicated that their fear of being robbed increased during the holidays, with over half of them felt they had a higher probability of being selected by the thieves.
"As we have seen, year after year, vacation schedules always gives a higher rate of identity theft and fraud," said Linda Foley, founder of the Identity Theft Resource Center site. "In times like these, it is important to protect against the many people who seek to take advantage of vulnerable targets, both in public and online."
Despite fears, consumers do not seem to be moving away from online shopping, especially during the holiday season. PayPal online payment service recently year growth of 20 percent over a year of total payments for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Mobile payments through PayPal, also jumped from 140 to 190 percent on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, respectively. A study released Wednesday by comScore said that online retailers have seen 887 million dollars spent by consumers on Cyber Monday 2009, 5 percent more than what happened in 2008.
To protect against online identity theft, the Identity Theft Resource Center proposes limiting purchases to sites that are trustworthy and verify that they can securely store payment information. Keep a printed receipt for every purchase and credit cards instead of debit cards when they are online are also recommended.
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