Consumers would be wise to beware of the most commons scams of
the season before heading online to book travel and do holiday
shopping. McAfee (NYSE: MFE) today revealed the “Twelve Scams of
Christmas” – the 12 most dangerous online scams that computer users
should be cautious of this holiday season.
“Scams continue to be big business for cybercriminals who have
their sights set on capitalizing on open hearts and wallets this
holiday season,” said Dave Marcus, director of security research
for McAfee Labs. “As people jump online to look for deals on gifts
and travel, it’s important to recognize common scams to safeguard
against theft during the busy season ahead.”
Twelve Scams of
Christmas
1) iPad Offer Scams
With Apple products topping most shopping
lists this holiday season, scammers are busy distributing bogus
offers for free iPads. McAfee Labs found that in the spam version
of the scam consumers are asked to purchase other products and
provide their credit card number to get the free iPad. Of course,
victims never receive the iPad or the other items, just the
headache of reporting a stolen credit card number.
In the social media version of the scam,
users take a quiz to win a free iPad and must supply their cell
phone number to receive the results. In actuality they are signed
up for a cell phone scam that costs $10 a week.
2) “Help! I’ve Been Robbed”
Scam
This travel scam sends phony distress
messages to family and friends requesting that money be wired or
transferred so that they can get home. McAfee Labs has seen an
increase in this scam and predicts its rise during the busy travel
season.
3) Fake Gift Cards
Cybercrooks use social media to promote fake
gift card offers with the goal of stealing consumers’ information
and money, which is then sold to marketers or used for ID
theft.
One recent Facebook scam offered a “free
$1,000 Best Buy gift card” to the first 20,000 people who signed up
for a Best Buy fan page, which was a look-a-like. To apply for the
gift card they had to provide personal information and take a
series of quizzes.
4) Holiday Job Offers
As people seek extra cash for gifts this
holiday season, Twitter scams offer dangerous links to high-paying,
work-at-home jobs that ask for your personal information, such as
your email address, home address and Social Security number to
apply for the fake job.
5) “Smishing”
Cybercrooks are now “smishing,” or sending
phishing SMS texts. These texts appear to come from your bank or an
online retailer saying that there is something wrong with an
account and you have to call a number to verify your account
information. In reality, these efforts are merely a ruse to extract
valuable personal information from the targets. Cybercrooks know
that people are more vulnerable to this scam during the holiday
season when consumers are doing more online shopping and checking
bank balances frequently.
6) Suspicious Holiday
Rentals
During peak travel times when consumers often
look online for affordable holiday rentals, cybercrooks post fake
holiday rental sites that ask for down payments on properties by
credit card or wire transfer.
7) Recession Scams Continue
Scammers target vulnerable consumers with
recession related scams such as pay-in-advance credit schemes.
McAfee Labs has seen a significant number of spam emails
advertising prequalified, low-interest loans and credit cards if
the recipient pays a processing fee, which goes directly into the
scammer’s pocket.
8) Grinch-like Greetings
E-cards are a convenient and earth-friendly
way to send greetings to friends and family, but cybercriminals
load fake versions with links to computer viruses and other malware
instead of cheer. According to McAfee Labs, computers may start
displaying obscene images, pop-up ads, or even start sending cards
to contacts that appear to come from you.
9) Low Price Traps
Shoppers should be cautious of products
offered at prices far below competitors. Cyber scammers use auction
sites and fake websites to offer too-good-to-be-true deals with the
goal of stealing your money and information.
10) Charity Scams
The holidays have historically been a prime
time for charity scams since it’s a traditional time for giving,
and McAfee Labs predicts that this year is no exception. Common
ploys include phone calls and spam e-mails asking you to donate to
veterans’ charities, children's causes and relief funds for the
latest catastrophe.
11) Dangerous Holiday
Downloads
Holiday-themed screensavers, jingles and
animations are an easy way for scammers to spread viruses and other
computer threats especially when links come from an email or IM
that appears to be from a friend.
12) Hotel and Airport Wi-fi
During the holidays many people travel and
use free wi-fi in places like hotels and airports. This is a
tempting time for thieves to hack into networks hoping to find
opportunities for theft.
McAfee advises Internet users to follow these five tips to
protect their computers and personal information:
- Stick to well-established and trusted
sites that include trust marks (icons or seals from third parties
verifying that the site is safe), user reviews and customer
support. A reputable trust mark provider will have a live link
attached to its trust mark icon, which will take visitors to a
verification Web site of the trust mark provider.
- Do not respond to offers that arrive in
a spam email, text or instant message.
- Preview a link’s web address before you
click on it to make sure it is going to an established site. Never
download or click anything from an unknown source.
- Stay away from vendors that offer
prices well below the norm. Don’t believe anything that’s too good
to be true.
- Make sure to use trusted wi-fi
networks. Don’t check bank accounts or shop online if you’re not
sure the network is safe.
If you think you may be a victim of cybercrime, visit the McAfee
Cybercrime Response Unit to assess your risks and learn what you
can do next at www.mcafee.com/cru.
About McAfee
McAfee, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is the world's
largest dedicated security technology company. McAfee delivers
proactive and proven solutions and services that help secure
systems, networks, and mobile devices around the world, allowing
users to safely connect to the Internet, browse and shop the Web
more securely. Backed by its unrivaled Global Threat Intelligence,
McAfee creates innovative products that empower home users,
businesses, the public sector and service providers by enabling
them to prove compliance with regulations, protect data, prevent
disruptions, identify vulnerabilities, and continuously monitor and
improve their security. McAfee secures your digital world.
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