By Carl Weiss
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| Image courtesy of fanpop.com |
On
the First Day of Christmas my true love said to me, you won’t believe what I
found under the tree.
Santa
has nothing to do with the multitude of offers you will find online this
shopping season that are too good to be true.
A recent blog on Democrat and Chronicle
quoted attorney Eric Schneiderman as saying,
“As the
holiday shopping season kicks off and more consumers plan to shop online, there
are simple steps you can take to avoid scams and protect your personal data.
Consumers should know how to spot fake websites and deals that are too good to
be true.” Schneiderman warned that when
shopping online, consumers should only use secure Internet connections and only
process online payments on web pages that are HTTPS verified to protect
themselves against fraudulent companies.”
This is
good advice. But the first warning sign
of an impending cybercon should be prices for merchandise way below retail or
wholesale value. You also need to make
doubly sure that the website you thought you were clicking onto is indeed the
one you arrived at. Cybercriminals are
amazingly good at creating knockoff websites that look just like the real deal. The only difference would be a subtle
spelling difference in the url. So be
warned and be safe.
On the Second Day
of Christmas my true love said to me, look what I won honey!
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| en.wikipedia.org |
“Consumers should be suspicious of any email,
messages, or posts on social networks promoting giveaways or contests that seem
too good to be true, e.g., free high-value gift cards, tablets, and
smartphones. These “contests” are often scams designed to bilk consumers out of
money and/or to collect consumers’ personal information for resale. Genuine
sweepstakes and contests are commonplace on the Internet; however, you should
avoid any contest or promotion that requires you to pay money or to perform any
sort of financial transaction. Also, think twice before participating in
promotions that require entrants to register with multiple third-party
websites; often these are ploys to build marketing lists. Promotions that
require users to provide more than simple contact information may even be phony
or run by scammers who resell consumer information to collect referral fees!”
On the Third Day
of Christmas my true love said to me, let’s help this charity!
While giving to a legitimate
charity is a noble act, you need to be extra careful to whom you donate your
hard-earned money. Fake charities are a
real menace to consumers and business owners alike. Before you donate, make sure you navigate
your way to a legitimate charity. A blog
by Credit.com titled “4 Ways to Avoid Charity Scams” advises,
“It’s
so easy to click on a link in your email, break out your wallet for a
sympathetic caller or open a site from Facebook — but resist the impulse. When
you decide to donate, go directly to the website of the organization to whom
you want to give your money, rather than taking a shortcut. Not only could your
dollars never reach their destination, you could end up downloading malware or leaving yourself
open to identity theft.”
On the Fourth Day
of Christmas my true love said to me, look what a little birdy told me.
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| Zazzle.com |
On the Fifth Day of Christmas my true love said to me, check out my new USB.
Other than
clicking on ads or email links, the quickest way to infect your system is to
plug in a Free USB. If you will recall,
this is how Iran’s Nuclear program was infected with the Stuxnet virus. One of their personnel inadvertently picked
up a USB that was left lying around only to plug it into a terminal.
So if you should be sitting in a coffee shop or copy center and see a
USB lying around on a table unattended, DO NOT TOUCH IT. You will thank me later.
On the Sixth Day
of Christmas my true love said to me, let’s grab a cup of coffee.
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| From precisionnutriton.com |
On the Seventh Day
of Christmas my true love said to me, let’s get some money.
Here’s the rub, it isn’t just your
personal electronics that can be hacked.
So can everything from ATM machines to gas pumps. Cybercriminals use credit card skimmers that
are designed to grab your credit card information or your pin numbers. Thieves have also been known to install their
own cameras in order to record your PIN as you enter it in public kiosks.
So make sure you cover the keypad with your hand before entering any
PIN.
On the Eighth Day
of Christmas my true love said to me, I got a call from somebody.
Thieves are also not averse to getting
on the phone, impersonating a lender, credit card company, or even the IRS in
order to try to pressure you into divulging personal information. While breaches of major retailers involving
tens of millions of stolen cards have and will continue to take place, when in
doubt you should call the number of the bank or the one on the back of your
credit card to make absolutely sure you are not being conned.
On the Ninth Day
of Christmas my true love said to me, our package is in jeopardy.
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| blog.ted.com |
Here’s another newsflash: The US
Postal Service, UPS, Fedex and other legitimate shipping companies will not
send you an email if a package is hung up in transit. But cyberthieves will send you an email that
links to a clone of the shipper’s site in order to fleece you. Again, when in doubt call the company
directly. Do not click on a poisoned
link. And never, EVER divulge personal
or financial information unless you know to whom you are speaking.
On the Tenth Day
of Christmas my true love said to me, have you ever been to Bimini?
Along with bogus product come-ons are travel
deals that offer to Save You Big $$ on last-minute trips. While there are a number of legitimate travel
purveyors that specialize in last-minute trips, they will not solicit you via
spam email. You are required to opt-in
and register with them. The last thing
you want to do is schedule a trip that takes you nowhere but to the
cleaners. Travelers Beware.
On the Eleventh Day
of Christmas my true love said to me, look at the card we got from Sonny.
Digital e-cards are sure to bring a smile to your face
unless they are not from the person you thought they were. While you might be thinking season’s
greetings, cyberthieves are into season’s greedings by hoping to get you to
click on a fake link that instead of bringing a twinkle to your eye will instead
give you a case of merry Malware. Again,
never click on a link unless you are sure that it is from a legitimate e-card
company like jibjab.com. (Also make sure
you mouseover the link in order to detect if the url on the card or email is
the one you are going to be taken to. If
you mouseover the link and the url that is displayed at the bottom of your
browser does not match up with the link on the email, don’t go there or you
will soon have a case of the Ho-ho-holiday blues.)
On the Twelfth Day
of Christmas my true love said to me, let’s try this free app honey.
As they
say, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
And when it comes to free apps, user beware. Man of them are designed by and for
cyberthieves. Like a vampire, these
denizens of the dark hope to get invited into your private space so they can
put the byte on you. Before loading any
app you need to check them out in advance.
Google their reviews and use protected sites such as googleplay, or itunes
or tucows.com since these sites vet their apps to make sure they aren’t
carrying any unwanted presents.
When he isn't playing Santa, Carl Weiss is CEO of Working the Web to Win based in Jacksonville, Florida.
