It’s the beginning of the holiday shopping season, so the Credit Union Times recently reported the four top holiday scams (click here for the full article). It’s a favorite time of the year for fraudsters due to the increase in consumer spending, especially online. In fact, it’s estimated that 44% of all holiday shopping this year will be conducted online. So, cybercriminals are just waiting to pounce with phishing emails and other sneaky tricks at their disposal.
Here are four of the top online threats this year, according to the article:
- Black Friday/Cyber Monday Specials: Be wary of the deals that are too good to be true.
- Free Vouchers or Gift Cards: Ensure you’re on the company’s official site and aren’t providing sensitive information.
- Ransomware, DDoS and Site Overload: For businesses, cybercriminals may threaten to negatively impact their reputation and revenue by overloading their web servers so consumers cannot access their websites.
- Phishing on the Dark Side: Cashing in on the new “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” blockbuster, thieves are tricking people into thinking that they can receive free tickets to see the movie by clicking a link in their e-mail.
For more information on these four holiday cyber threats, please read the full article at CUTimes.com.
