With Christmas just days away, shoppers rushing to buy last-minute gifts are being warned to stay alert as online scams increase during the busy holiday period.
Cybercriminals are targeting consumers through a range of tactics, including scam delivery messages, phony shopping websites, and phishing emails and online advertisements. The scams are designed to exploit the pressure many shoppers feel as delivery cut-off dates approach.
One of the most common scams involves text messages claiming there is an issue with a delivery. The messages often ask recipients to click a link or pay a small fee to release a parcel. First Bank Hampton Information Systems Officer Brian Borcherding tells RadioOnTheGo News these messages are usually sent at random and do not come from legitimate delivery companies.
“The text message looks like it’s coming from FedEx or UPS saying, ‘your package is arriving late, click the link to find the tracking information,’ or just even some kind of text message regarding the shipping of your package. Not to say that 100 % of them are malicious, but in those situations, what you would want to do if it’s an Amazon package, log on to Amazon under your account and check and see where the status is of where the delivery is rather than actually never return the message in a phone call or click a link or text the person back. What you’re doing there is you’re verifying to the malicious person that yes, this phone number, it really is real. And then you may get future attacks just based on that.”
Shoppers are also being urged to watch for phishing emails and advertisements that imitate well-known retailers. These messages often promote limited-time Christmas deals and direct users to fake websites designed to capture login details or financial information. Borcherding says consumers can reduce their risk by taking simple precautions, including checking website addresses carefully and going directly to official retailer websites.
“There are some things you can look out for when it comes from an email. If it comes from an email, you’d need to look at who is sending that email to you and the actual address that it’s coming from. For instance, if it’s Norton Antivirus, it probably is not going to come from a Gmail account. You often see attackers using a Gmail account with a bunch of random letters and numbers in the front of that email address. And then they’ll just change the name that appears. So it may appear that it’s coming from something legitimate, but that’s actually an attacker trying to get information out of you.”
With online shopping expected to peak in the final days before Christmas, shoppers are urged to remain cautious to avoid falling victim to scams during the holiday season.
