As the holiday season approaches, it is important to stay vigilant against scams, as fraudulent activity is always on the rise during the busy shopping and giving season. Consumers who shop from their mobile devices, which is most of them, need to be especially careful about sharing personal and financial information that can make them more vulnerable to identity theft and fraudulent offers.
Checkeepers know that Checkeeper follows strict security protocols to keep user information as safe and confidential as possible. Checkeeper ensures that:
· Accounts are password-protected
· Transmitted data is encrypted
· Check data is automatically recorded and stored for users
· Check printing software integrates with other accounting software so that financial information is accurate across multiple channels and can be easily verified
· Printed and mailed checks comply with HIPAA guidelines for safeguarding confidential health and financial information
There are additional measures users can take, as well, to secure their Checkeeper accounts. Checkeeper users may choose to add an extra layer of security to their accounts by:
· Monitoring usage: Account holders can access their accounts from anywhere and see how many checks have been printed or mailed within a specific time.
· Limiting user permissions: Checkeeper account holders can authorize additional users to issue payments, but those permission settings can be limited to only designated features or they can be set to require an approval before payments go out.
· Running reports: Checkeeper offers unlimited reporting so that account holders can oversee all the payments issued within any custom time frame. Reports list all the check fields for each check created, and they also list the authorized user responsible for each transaction, as well as date and time of check creation.
· Adding double-authentication: Checkeeper accounts are password-protected, and users have the additional option of adding a secondary method for verifying identity before completing login.
When shopping this holiday season, purchasing travel, or making plans for hosting, consider some of the more widely-advised ways to safeguard your information and access to your online accounts so that shopping and giving are as secure as possible.
One way to protect yourself from fraudulent offers is to use brands that you already trust and have used before with satisfaction. Signing up for promotions on sites for companies with whom you are not familiar may require you to share personal contact and financial information when you don’t know how that information will be used. It is advisable that when you shop online, you patronize trusted sites and stores who have well-established reputations, and when possible, limit the amount of information you need to share. When making donations, too, it is important to ascertain that a charity or organization is legitimate and nonprofit so that you don’t fall victim to a scam fundraiser.
Sharing login credentials, passwords, and one-time codes can open users up to identity theft and unauthorized use of online accounts and credit card information. Using unique passwords and activating double-authentication requirements can help prevent unauthorized access. Users are advised to also make sure the contact information, like phone numbers, addresses, and emails are current on your profile so that companies can communicate their notifications more efficiently and they can reach you in case a breach is suspected.
Many users set up custom alerts with their banks and financial institutions so that they know when charges are incurred or transactions initiated. These alerts can sometimes become tedious when users are making a lot of authorized purchases and transactions in a small time frame, but they help ensure that expenditures are authorized and accounted for.
While your charges are listed for you in bank statements and credit card statements, users have a more secure shopping experience when they keep personal track of their spending. Tracking your own expenses alerts you quickly to any errors as soon as they are posted, and it helps prevent your checking account from becoming inadvertently overdrawn. Keeping receipts that you can use later for budget comparisons and bank reconciliation makes personal bookkeeping a less stressful and less time-consuming process while also assuring that purchases are legit.
Consumers need to remain cautious about organizations that solicit money using payment methods that are unfamiliar. Most professional organizations and businesses do not request funds to be transmitted through atypical payment methods or channels that require you to set up a whole new account. When possible, use payment methods that you can easily track so that you can be alerted quickly to an erroneous charge or overcharge.