Holiday Cyber Scams: How to Identify and Avoid Them!
The holidays are a time of celebrations, family gatherings, and shopping
for Christmas gifts. Millions of American’s head to their local malls, shopping
centers, and online retailers to find the most desired treasures for their
loved ones to make it a year to remember. While it is an exciting time that
elicits happy thoughts and feelings of peace, it is also a time that brings out
criminals and evildoers in large numbers who seek to steal away those happy
thoughts. Cyber thieves use a wide variety of tricks and scams to separate
people from their money, leaving behind confusion, anger, and broken dreams.
Cyber scams have become increasingly complicated and deceitful in recent
years. Thieves use emails, texts, credit card skimmers, fake gift cards, and
many other enticing traps to create confusion when shoppers are looking for a
good deal. Shoppers must be aware of sites that they use to purchase gifts, and
never input personal or financial information onto sites that aren’t trusted.
In addition to shopping, consumers must be alert to communications from
retailers that they make purchases from, as these are some of the ways that
scammers try to gain access to your information.
One of the most common ways that criminals use to steal your money is
through phishing schemes. These schemes often appear as fake emails or texts from
legitimate retailers and other trusted sources. During the holidays, crooks use
emails that pretend to be from companies like Apple or Amazon claiming that an
account has been disabled or that someone may have hacked their account in an
effort to get personal information. They suggest resetting a password, and
provide a link that sends the unwitting user to a site designed to harvest ID
and password data for hackers.
Apple and Amazon will not actually ask for this kind of personal
information in this way, so when you see these kinds of emails and texts you
should delete them immediately. If you are ever in doubt of an email or text
authenticity, be sure to call the company directly (using publicly published numbers, not phony numbers included in the emails or texts) to inquire about the status
of your accounts rather than responding electronically. Another easy way to spot
these phishing schemes is to check the email addresses provided as contact
points. They will likely contain valid looking information like company names,
but they usually have a much longer address with complex sequences of letters
and numbers. If it feels wrong, it probably is!
Another frequently used tactic of scammers is fake shipping
notifications, also via email or text, that pose as requests from companies
like UPS, Amazon, or FedEx. These requests inform the recipients that there is
an issue with their order, and insist that they need to verify their identity
in order to correct the issue and complete their order. Often, they will
threaten that an order will be canceled unless you respond within a certain
amount of time. These scammers assume that a potential target actually does
have orders pending, and hopes that they fall of for deception as a means of
gaining personal info used to steal their identity. Clicking on a link in one
of these communications could result in loss of personal information or a virus
being unleashed on your computer in the form of Ransomware or Malware.
Much like phishing schemes, companies like UPS and FedEx will not ask a
customer to provide passwords or personal information when there is an issue
with a shipping order. They will also not threaten to cancel an order within a
short period time. Emails or texts requesting personal information to resolve
an issue should be deleted at once. Always contact the shipping company
directly if you have concerns about the status of a package, and have your
shipping number ready to verify your order. Shipping numbers are always
provided when orders are placed, and passwords are never used to verify
identity when seeking tracking information. Again, things that look out of
place should be an indicator that something isn’t right. Trust your instinct,
and always call the company directly for clarification.
In addition to aggressive email and text attacks, there are also hundreds
of phishing websites passively waiting for unsuspecting visitors to click on
them, thinking they are visiting a legitimate retailer. These sites are usually
found by clicking on a deal that looks to good to be true (it probably is too
good to be true). Following a link for a product that promises to be the best,
or offering the best price, can be a powerful lure for a bargain shopper.
Everyone wants to get the best deal on the hottest gift, and that is exactly
what these sites count on. Unfortunately, when you click on an item to purchase
and load in your credit card information, you will likely never receive what
you think you are buying (if you receive anything at all). Now, your credit
card information is compromised!
When looking for good deals on the internet, it is very important to
ensure that you are on a legitimate retail site. Sometimes, phishing sites try
to mimic real sites by using similar layouts, color schemes, or even names.
There are however ways to tell if a site if legitimate or not. Roll your curser
over links or emails on the site to see what the actual addresses are. This
technique is called “Mouse-Over”. Now look at the bottom of your screen
to see the actual URL you will go to if you click the link. Similar to phishing
emails, the addresses will often have legit-looking names as part of it, but
will also contain long sequences of letters, numbers, and special characters
that are key indicators of a fake address. Also, real company URL’s will have
fairly simple naming conventions, whereas fake sites will be long and complex.
Spending the extra time to verify the legitimacy of a site will save you money
and anxiety as you navigate the shopping landscape during the holidays!
The holidays should be a joyous time with family and friends. Don’t let the bah-humbugs on the other end of a keyboard send you coal for your stocking. Be alert to things that don’t look right. Be wary of deals that look to good to be true. Spend the extra time to ensure that websites are what you think they are. Always keep a close eye on your money, and know the steps to keep it safe. Staying ahead of the cyber criminals will keep the holidays cheerful and merry!
http://xlncybersecurity.blogspot.com/2018/09/recognizing-phishing-email.html
https://www.xlnsystems.com/mouseover
https://www.zdnet.com/article/scam-spam-and-phishing-texts-how-to-spot-sms-fraud-and-stay-safe/
https://www.csoonline.com/article/3142319/10-top-holiday-phishing-scams.html#slide1
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