Online thieves and attackers want gifts under their trees too!
Cybercriminals and attackers also desire presents beneath their trees!
Online thieves are just a little behind the excited shoppers who rush to the web to enjoy excellent discounts. Unfortunately, every 19 minutes, someone becomes a victim of cyber fraudsters, according to the TransUnion credit bureau. Thankfully, there are numerous ways to safeguard oneself.
Avoid suspicious websites. Cybercriminals use fake websites around the holidays to entice customers with astronomical discounts and low costs. When shopping on websites, you haven’t used before, practice caution. Choose websites that begin with “https.” The website is secure if it has an “S” after it, which stands for secure.
Avoid opening unwanted emails. Emails with headlines like “Insane Cyber Monday Deals: 80% off” sound too good to be true. These emails are probably spam/phishing because they seem “too good to be true.” Phishing emails can get past your defenses and convince you to supply required information without giving it a second thought. It’s crucial to check the email address of senders you have yet to establish contact with twice.
Consider your passwords seriously. You probably have several internet accounts if you purchase online frequently. If you’re like most people, use the same password for most or all of them. Criminals may have all the information necessary to access all the sites if your details are compromised on one of them, including your banking details. So create specific, challenging passwords for each account, preferably passphrases. If passphrases are not an option, ensure your password mixes capital and lowercase letters, digits, and special characters.
Watch out for fraudulent apps. A renowned company’s logo may appear on an app, but it doesn’t mean the business made it. For instance, a Trend Micro analysis discovered that 77% of the top 50 free apps in the Google Play Store are fake. The fake versions frequently looked like the actual ones and performed similarly. However, many had dangerous malware that could gather credit card and banking information.
Happy Shopping!