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Larry Magid: Navigating gifts, giving and online safety


The time between Thanksgiving and the New Year offers many opportunities, including family time, great meals and treats, gift giving and charitable contributions. It’s also a time when children and some adults get a break from school or work.

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Tech, of course, plays a role in almost all aspects of the holidays, including researching and buying gifts online, meal planning, finding holiday events for the family and researching and making donations to worthwhile charities.

Sadly, there are some grinches that come out this time of year, including scammers offering deals that are “too good to be true.” Others solicit donations that wind up in their pockets rather than a charity.

And, because kids are out of school for at least part of the season, it’s also a time when they may be tempted to spend more time online, which can be good or bad, depending on what they’re doing, what it’s getting in the way of and how it makes them feel.

Gifts

Let’s start with gifts. You’re going to see a lot of online offers during the next few weeks but, before you turn over your credit or debit card, make sure they’re from a legitimate source. If you go to an online store, make sure you spell its web address correctly, and if you don’t know anything about the store, do a little research to see if it’s legitimate. This isn’t foolproof, but searching for the store’s name followed by “scam” will often give you some clues. You should also look for reviews and ratings from legitimate sources such as Google and Yelp, Check for complaints on the Better Business Bureau site, and make sure there are secure payment options. Avoid wiring money or other bank transfers. Use tools such as Whois or Domain Age Checker to see how long the website has been active. A newly registered domain may be riskier.

Paying by credit card is your best bet because of fraud protection. Debit cards typically also have fraud protection, but unlike a credit card, the money is taken out of your account immediately, so you have to apply to get it back if there’s evidence of fraud.  Never pay by wire or gift card, unless it’s a gift card issued by the merchant you’re shopping at. If you pay by check, you may have no recourse once it’s cashed. Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal are among the legitimate payment services with some …read more

Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment

      

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