CYBER CRIME DOESN’T STOP WHEN THE HOLIDAYS ARE OVER

With the holidays over, most of us are back to work and on a tight budget.

But you should also be diligent about checking your bank and credit card statements for fraudulent charges.

There’s usually a 20-percent increase in so-called cyber crimes over the holidays, but the information thieves gather may not be used the second they discover it.

University of Alabama professor Adam Ghazi-Tehrani has a few tips for safety when you’re shopping or banking online:

• Different passwords for different websites
• When you’re spending money online, ensure you’re using a secure connection
• Check your bank statements often

If you’re terrible at password management, there are legitimate services that can help, such as LastPass or 1Password.