Avoid Online Scams When You're Shopping for the Holidays

Periodically, we read informative independent points of view that we think may be helpful for our readers. This one was from Trend Micro, purveyors of online virus and malware protection software.

"Every year we see staggering new statistics about how many people are buying gifts online instead of braving traffic, long lines, and parking nightmares at brick-and-mortar stores. During the holidays, many online retailers will also offer breaks on shipping costs—so the advantages of less physical hassle, no sales tax, and potentially free or cheap shipping make online shopping pretty appealing. However, the risks involved in online shopping are persistent as ever. Here are a few key ways you can protect yourself.

1. Use a virtual account number. This is a service that most credit cards now offer. Here's how it works: Log onto your credit card account and with one click you can generate a random credit card number that makes it virtually impossible for anyone to steal your account number while shopping online. When your virtual number is generated, simply enter it into the merchant's form and complete your purchase without revealing your actual card number. This virtual credit card number is only valid for a short period of time-long enough for the retailer to process your transaction, which will be charged to your real credit card account. But if a retailer stores that number and a hacker later breaks into their system, the number will be useless. Please note: Virtual account numbers cannot be used for purchases that require you to show your credit card at time of pick-up (e.g., movie tickets, etc.), because the account numbers will not match.

2. Make sure you're shopping on a secure site. Look for the padlock icon or a URL that starts with https://. That means your transaction is encrypted.

3. Don't trust emails from "retailers" claiming you need to verify your credit card information. This is almost certainly a scam. Every year millions of emails go out from hackers pretending to be eBay or PayPal customer service and asking consumers to provide information that the actual service already possesses. If you're worried that a retailer really has failed to process your order, go to the site and look up your account or contact their customer service center—don't click on a link in email that could redirect to a dummy site."

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Aboriginals: Art of the First Person brings you this message in anticipation of the Christmas season, as the owners of online sites that offer Native American carvings (ZuniLink), Native American Indian jewelry (Native-JewelryLink), pueblo pottery (Native-PotteryLink) and African, Australian and Arctic tribal art (TribalWorks). We guaranteed both the authenticity of and your satisfaction with any item purchased from our websites. We have been involved in tribal art collecting and selling for 30 years. We welcome your orders via our secure (https) order form.

SWAIA announces interim head

Santa Fe, NM - Dr. Bruce Bernstein, a current SWAIA Board member, will take on a larger role for that organization over the next several months leading up to the Santa Fe Indian Market. Bernstein will act as a management consultant, assisting the Board and the staff in their preparations for the upcoming Indian Market in August.

“We felt that the staff was very capable of executing the Indian Market,” explains Board Chair, Vivian Arviso. “But given the recent departure of our Executive Director, we felt it would be fairer to them to have some extra help. We are fortunate to have a Board with diverse backgrounds and to be able to call upon individual members.”

Bernstein is a familiar face in Santa Fe. He brings a rich background with him when it comes to Native American art and the Santa Fe Indian Market, in particular. He is currently a senior scholar in the Smithsonian’s Anthropology Department in Washington, D.C., where he is finishing research and writing projects on Native arts, including the Santa Fe Indian Market. Prior to that position, he was the Assistant Director for Cultural Resources at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. Before leaving New Mexico he had been the Director and Chief Curator of the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture for ten years, and held positions at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian and UNM’s Maxwell Museum of Anthropology. He is widely published and has curated numerous exhibitions on American Indian art. A SWAIA Board member for the past four years, he has been involved with the organization as a volunteer and judge for over 25 years.

“Very few people know the Santa Fe Indian Market as well as Bruce does,” states Arviso. “He knows the artists, he knows the collectors, and he knows the organization. I think he will provide a great deal of help during our transition period.”

The SWAIA Board has launched a search for a new Executive Director, whom they hope to identify and hire by September.

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Aboriginals: Art of the First Person is proud to be a business member and support of Southwestern Association of Indian Arts.