Pickpockets and thieves are not just trolling
the malls and city streets this holiday season. They're lurking online as well,
just waiting for you to drop your guard or become distracted by attractive
come-ons.
Just like you're looking for the hottest deals
from online retailers, cybercriminals are also looking to "score big"
- by stealing your personal and financial information.
According to the online security software
company, Norton, cyberthieves have gotten off to an early start this holiday
season and Norton expects them to continue their unscrupulous scams for the
rest of the year and beyond.
Most notably, Norton says it has observed spam
messages promoting replica watches, health products, free gift cards, and other
fake product offers related to Christmas with the following email subject
lines: Grab em before Christmas; or Just in time for Christmas - cheap watches;
or even personalized to your email address and in your name, "Hi xxxx, get 70%
off Christmas."
Most of these spam messages try to get you to
buy these products early because of limited supply or to get the best deals.
But by clicking the URL, you're directed to fake websites selling replica
watches, an online pharmacy, or other fake product offer sites.
These online threats masquerading as
holiday-themed e-mails and fake product promotions trick you into giving up
credit card information. They're just some of the more common online scams that
Norton expects this year.
Marian Merritt, Norton's Internet Safety
Advocate, says that with Cyber Monday just a week away, "you can bet that
cybercriminals will be cooking up new plans this year to get a piece of that
pie."
According to the 2010 Norton Cybercrime Report, nearly
three out of every four (73%) of Americans have already been a victim of
cybercrime.
So here are some tips from Norton on how to make
sure your holidays are filled with cheer and not fear this season.
1. If you receive a suspicious email - whether
it's offering discounts that are too good to be true or is filled with
grammatical errors - delete the message.
It could be spam that's trying to trick you into downloading a virus or
giving away your personal information
2. Use visual cues to
identify safe websites. Scan the entire web page for a trust mark, such as the
VeriSign Trusted Seal. These marks demonstrate that trusted authorities have
taken comprehensive measures to certify such things as security, online
business ethics or customer privacy standards.
3. Protect yourself against
viruses by using trusted online security software.
