'Tis the season for joy and giving -- but for malicious types hanging out in cyberspace it's also a time to take advantage of naive web surfers. Scams run high leading up to and over the holidays, Here are 12 scams to watch out for to ensure a Merry Christmas for yourself.
Not everyone is feeling the festive spirit, as many scammers are attempting to take advantage of your kindness. Here are of 12 scam warning signs to watch out for.
Charity Phishing Scams
How it works: The hackers send fictional emails that appear to be from well-known charitable organizations, such as the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and Oxfam that direct consumers to fake websites designed to steal their money.
What to do: Don’t ever click on a link sent in email -- type in the name of the organization directly.
Email Banking Scams
How it works: the bad guys send an official-looking email that asks consumers to confirm account information, including their user name and password. These emails often try to fool consumers into thinking that if they don’t comply with the instructions, their account will become invalid.
What to do: Don't ever click on a link sent in email. Visit your bank website directly by typing in the name in your browser. Call your bank by telephone if you’re concerned about your account. Never give your account details out as a result of an email request.
Holiday e-cards
How it works: Scammers may send you an e-card that appears as if it’s coming from Hallmark asking you to download an attachment to pick up your e-card. However, the attachment isn't really an e-card -- it's a Trojan.
What to do: A few clues that an e-card is not legit are spelling mistakes, errors in the message, unknown senders or senders with bogus names and odd-looking URLs. When in doubt, don’t open it.
Fake Invoices
How it works: The bad guys create a fake invoice or waybill and send it via email as an attachment. Once the consumer opens the email attachment there are a few variations -- the recipient may be asked to confirm or cancel an order, they may be told that the parcel service was unable to deliver a package due to having an incorrect address, or the recipient may receive a customs notification about an international package.
What to do: Never give your financial details over email to an unknown recipient or open a suspicious attachment. If you want to ensure you are reaching shipping sites like FedEx or UPS, open a browser and directly access the website.
You’ve Got A New Friend!
How it works: As the joy of the holiday season brings people together and reignites old friendships, many of us are excited when alerted with a message that says, “You’ve got a new friend!” when using popular social networking sites. Sadly, in some cases, after clicking on the notice, you NOT only do not have a new friend -- you have downloaded malicious software that you can’t even detect. Of course, it’s designed to steal personal and financial information.
What to do: Delete the email immediately. Stay away from “friends” you don’t know.
Dangerous Holiday-Related Search Terms
How it works: You get an email or see a pop-up window that says "Free Santa download” or "Free Santa holiday screensaver" but when click on it and download the proam, it's malware.
What to do: Don't trust these emails or pop-up windows. If you want to download holiday-themed PC extras, go to a legit site like Download.com, which houses files that contain no spyware.
Coffee Shop Cyber criminal
How it works: An attacker might set up a rogue wireless access point nearby a coffeehouse. If somebody unwittingly connects to the attacker’s network, the thief can watch just about everything that goes on while that connection is in use and can redirect traffic, sending the unknowing user to the dark alleys of the Internet.
What to do: Make sure you have a firewall install and stick with wireless networks you know and trust. Free is tempting, but could cost you a lot in the end.
Password Stealers
How it works: A North American holiday shopping survey found that 53 percent of consumers admit they use the same password for multiple websites or online services. If someone finds out (or guesses) one of your passwords, it could put your entire digital life at risk.
What to do: Be sure you use have an updated comprehensive security software suite to help prevent access to password-stealing malware -- this includes anti-virus, anti-spyware and a two-way firewall. And create complex passwords such as h@ppYh0lid@y$
Fraud Via Auction Sites
How it works: Shoppers on auction sites must be aware of scammers who will use the increased activity of the holiday season to prey upon new victims. Be sure to read the security and safety policies from such sites as eBay to learn how to protect your account and buy safely.
What to do: eBay’s Online Safety Advisor, Rich LaMagna, recommends to use your common sense (if an item looks too good to be true, it probably is), carefully review the seller’s ratings and feedback to be sure that he or she has a positive rating and pay with a safe payment method such as PayPal or your credit card.
Holiday-themed email attachments and spam
How it works: A recent holiday survey found that 49% of consumers have opened or would open an email with a holiday themed attachment. Consumers should beware of emails that prey upon their holiday spirit.
What to do: Be weary of friendly-looking emails from strangers that say something like “Happy 2009 to you!”, “Merry Christmas, friend!” and of course don’t open attachments or click links that take you to a website.
Online Identity Theft
How it works: McAfee says online shopping offers the 3 Cs: cost, convenience and choice -- but there’s one more we learned about from the recent McAfee Shopping Survey: Concern. For example, sites that store your personal information can be vulnerable to cybercriminals who hack in to steal your identity.
What to do: look for the mark of trusted security approvals, such as McAfee SECURE, which appears on more than 80,000 sites that pass daily testing for more than 10,000 known hacker vulnerabilities.
Laptop Theft
How it works: While you're out enjoying the festivities of the season, someone is looking to take home YOUR laptop as their gift.
What to do: Make sure to be particularly vigilant at this time of year and never leave your laptop in sight in your car. For further protection, be sure to purchase a product that safeguards important files – including photos, music and bank/credit card statements, in the event your laptop is stolen.
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