{"id":11995,"date":"2016-11-10T06:00:41","date_gmt":"2016-11-10T12:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/?p=11995"},"modified":"2016-11-09T21:09:44","modified_gmt":"2016-11-10T03:09:44","slug":"tdci-offers-identity-theft-prevention-tips-for-holiday-shoppers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/2016\/11\/10\/tdci-offers-identity-theft-prevention-tips-for-holiday-shoppers\/","title":{"rendered":"TDCI Offers Identity Theft Prevention Tips for Holiday Shoppers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-321814\" title=\"Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance\" src=\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Tennessee-Department-of-Commerce-and-Insurance.jpg\" alt=\"Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance\" width=\"250\" height=\"88\"><strong>Nashville, TN<\/strong> &#8211; As the hustle and bustle of the holiday season brings out the shoppers, it also brings out the scammers.<\/p>\n<p>The Tennessee Department of Commerce &amp; Insurance\u2019s (TDCI) Division of Consumer Affairs reminds Tennesseans of basic precautions that can help ward off identity thieves.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Holiday-Shopping-Tips.jpg\"  class=\"thickbox no_icon\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-366163\" title=\"Holiday Shopping Tips\" src=\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Holiday-Shopping-Tips-480x270.jpg\" alt=\"Holiday Shopping Tips\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\"><\/a><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe hectic holiday shopping season is a prime time for crimes such as identity theft because consumers are often distracted,\u201d said TDCI Consumer Protection Director Cynthia Wiel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTennesseans can reduce the risk of sensitive information falling into the wrong hands by remaining aware of both your surroundings and your belongings,&#8221; stated Wiel.<\/p>\n<h4>The Division of Consumer Affairs encourages consumers to utilize the following holiday shopping tips:&nbsp;<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Avoid carrying a Social Security card, birth certificate, passport, bank information or paychecks when shopping.<\/li>\n<li>Check your bank statements, credit card bills, and credit reports often.<\/li>\n<li>When paying by credit card, don\u2019t allow clerks to put your receipts in your bag; carry them in your wallet where they are safer.<\/li>\n<li>When paying by check, never allow merchants to write your Social Security number on the check. Use a black gel ink pen to write checks, which will permeate the fibers and make it difficult for the check to be cleaned and reused.<\/li>\n<li>When shopping online:\n<ul>\n<li>Be careful of wireless internet connections. Only use those that require a security key or certificate.<\/li>\n<li>Shop on secure, reputable sites only. \u201chttps:\/\/\u201d at the beginning of the URL indicates a secure site.<\/li>\n<li>Never offer personal information, such as your mother\u2019s maiden name or your Social Security number.<\/li>\n<li>Read customer reviews before ordering.<\/li>\n<li>Use a credit card, rather than a debit card. This protects your personal funds and prevents thieves from gaining access to your bank account.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Remember, some companies use \u201cfree trials\u201d to sign you up for additional products and bill you every month until you cancel. What starts as a \u201cfree trial\u201d might end up costing you real money. Learn more at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumer.ftc.gov\/\"  target=\"_blank\">www.consumer.ftc.gov<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For more consumer resources, or to file a complaint, contact the TDCI Division of Consumer Affairs at 800.342.8385 or visit <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tn.gov\/commerce\/section\/consumer-affairs\" >www.wehelpconsumers.tn.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nashville, TN &#8211; As the hustle and bustle of the holiday season brings out the shoppers, it also brings out the scammers. The Tennessee Department of Commerce &amp; Insurance\u2019s (TDCI) Division of Consumer Affairs reminds Tennesseans of basic precautions that can help ward off identity thieves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[11347,5,5131,6616,5128,2288],"class_list":["post-11995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community","tag-cynthia-wiel","tag-holiday-shopping","tag-scammers","tag-tdci","tag-tennessee-consumer-affairs","tag-tennessee-department-of-commerce-and-insurance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11995"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11996,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11995\/revisions\/11996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}