SARASOTA - You might not see Missy Cooper at the mall this holiday season.

“I prefer to shop online,” she says. “I don't like crowds, I don't like waiting in line.”

She is not alone in her desire to shop alone. While many people enjoy the frenzy of Black Friday, more and more people have migrated from the mall to the mouse to do their shopping. Americans spent $30 billion last holiday seasons, according to comScore.

Online shopping has become so common that some people don't think twice about it.

“You order online, you can do it in your pajamas, you can do it in your underwear, you can do it naked,” says James Curran, Ph.D., a marketing professor at USF Sarasota Manatee. “And stuff just comes to your door.”

Staying home doesn't not by itself keep you safe from those who will steal your money.

“I think shopping and online banking are probably the biggest things,” says Rick Rampersad, Director of Campus Computing at USFSM. Though cyber-security has improved over the years, he felt enough concern to send a campus-wide warning about the danger of identity and credit card theft.

Beware of marketing emails and online ads, he says. They could direct you to what's called a phishing site, a fake site designed to steal your information.

“If you physically go to Amazon.com then you will be on Amazon.com,” Rampersad says. “It's if they send you an e-mail and you get an email trail that says, 'click this button to go to Amazon.com, Things like that you have to be
very careful for.”

Missy Cooper had her credit card number stolen the old fashioned way. Her bank told her that a restaurant worker wrote down her card number.

“I was very surprised but it's gotten me into the habit of checking my account every day, which is good,” she says.

Rick Rampersad recommends not letting your credit card out of your sight at restaurants, retail stores or hotels. Most credit card theft happens in hospitality businesses, he says.