When it comes to holiday shopping, two days come to mind. Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Black Friday originated several decades ago to try and get shoppers into the stores the day after Thanksgiving when most people were off work. I remember the days when my mom would get up a couple of hours before a store opened, stand in line in the freezing cold to be one of the first inside. When the doors finally opened, she would proceed to run towards that one toy my son desperately needed, knocking aside anyone that got in the way of her being the best grandma ever!!!!!! And she was. My son continued with the tradition, camping out at a store for hours with his friends to get the video game he desperately needed!!! Times change and those days are over since the creation of Cyber Monday. You can now battle to purchase items before they sell out from the warmth and comfort of your home. Not quite the contact sport it used to be, but it still gives that “score” feeling.
So, who gives the better deal? Nowadays it’s pretty much neck and neck, with the exception of a few big-ticket items like TVs and electronics. So, if you don’t see what you want on Black Friday, or if it’s not the deal you’re looking for, you get another shot on Cyber Monday.
Here’s an interesting stat, in 2020 on-line sales during Cyber Monday reached $10.8 billion, making it the biggest selling day of all time. Another interesting stat, Transunion released findings that found over 17% of all global e-commerce transactions between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday were potentially fraudulent. Do you feel safe while shopping online? Black Friday and Cyber Monday may be your favorite shopping days of the year, but they are also a favorite among identity thieves, and hackers. Last year the U.S. Federal Trade Commission received nearly 6 million fraud reports. Associated financial losses were $6.1 billion, up 77% from 2020. Credit card fraud was the second-most common form of identity theft and Ohio is ranked 6th in incidents of identity theft per 100,000 residents, according to the FTC.
How can you protect yourself? As a risk management advisor, I’m glad you asked. You need Identity Theft Expense Coverage and Home Cyber Protection. Identity Theft Expense Coverage provides coverage for the expenses of restoring the insured’s financial identity such as loan reapplication fees, lost earnings for time off work, reasonable attorney fees, and other related expenses. Home Cyber Protection provides coverage for data recovery, system restoration, professional assistance on how to respond to a threat, fraud assistance and services such as a helpline, credit report, monitoring and case management services for the affected individuals. Please check with your agent to see if you have this coverage or how you can add it. Happy Shopping!!!!!!!
~Nancy Zimbardi~
