McAfee reminds consumers of the “12 Scams of Christmas” as 58% of Canadians plan to shop online during the 2012 holiday season
MARKHAM – McAfee, the world’s largest dedicated security technology company, recently released findings from the company’s 2012 Holiday Shopping study. The research investigates the online habits, behaviours, interests and lifestyles of global consumers who indicated they will engage with Internet and mobile devices while shopping this holiday season. As consumers move into full holiday mode, McAfee also exposes the top 12 scams of Christmas that criminals are using to rip off Canadians as they shop online and on mobile devices for the holidays.
While Canadians have become accustomed to shopping online and many plan to do so over the coming weeks, they are also using their mobile phones for more of their everyday activities.
As 58 per cent of those surveyed plan to shop online, a surprising one in three consumers plan to use either a smartphone or a tablet.
Despite that 83 per cent of Canadian smartphone and/or tablet owners surveyed are at least somewhat concerned that their personal information could be stolen while using a mobile app, more than eight in ten Canadians are willing to provide some personal information in order to receive an offer of value to them.
Among Canadians planning on using smartphones or tablets to purchase gifts this holiday season, more than half are specifically planning to use apps for shopping and/or banking; as such, mobile devices have proved irresistible to cybercriminals, who are targeting mobile users through malicious applications. With 30 per cent of Canadian smartphone and tablet owners admitting they do not pay any attention to app permissions, and 35 per cent paying attention only sometimes, cyber-scrooge criminals are ready to pounce.
“Every holiday season, cybercriminals get as excited as children on Christmas day,” said Brenda Moretto, Canadian Consumer Sales Manager at McAfee Canada. “They know that many consumers will be spending increased amounts of time online to shop, make travel plans, or connect with friends and family. They even know that many Internet users don’t have adequate security protection on their Internet-enabled machines and devices. If consumers aren’t diligent about surfing safely and protecting the personal and financial information online, they will make some criminals out there very happy.”
‘Tis the season for consumers to spend more time online shopping for gifts. More than half of the Canadians who plan on shopping on Boxing Day indicate they will be doing so online. In anticipation of cybercriminal activity designed to take advantage of the holiday spirits, McAfee has revealed the “12 Scams of Christmas,” the dozen most dangerous online scams to watch out for.
1) Social Media Scams – Many consumers use social media sites to connect with family and friends over the holidays, and cybercriminals will use these avenues to obtain their money, identity or other personal information.
Scammers use channels like Facebook and Twitter in the same way they use email and websites to scam consumers during the holidays. Be careful when clicking on or liking posts while taking advantage of contests, ads and special deals that you get from your “friends” that advertise the hottest holiday gifts, exclusive discounts at local stores and holiday-related job postings. Be on the lookout for your friends’ accounts being hacked and sending out fake alerts to all their connections.
Twitter ads and special discounts for popular gifts are especially popular around Boxing Day, and they utilize blind, shortened links that may be malicious. Criminals are getting savvier with authentic-looking social ads and deals that take consumers to legitimate-looking websites. In order to take advantage of the deals or contests, users provide personal information including their credit card number, email address, phone number and home address.
2) Malicious Mobile Apps – Earlier this year, Apple® and Google™ announced that they had each garnered more than 25 billion downloads from their app stores. But as the popularity of mobile applications has grown, so has the chance that users could download a malicious application designed to steal their information or even send out premium-rate text messages from their phones without their knowledge.
3) Travel Scams – Before shoppers make holiday travel plans, they need to keep in mind that scammers want to hook them with too-good-to-be-true deals. Phony travel webpages are used to entice users to hand over their financial details.
4) Holiday Spam/Phishing – Many of the spam emails that shoppers are used to seeing will take on holiday themes. Cheap designer watches and pharmaceuticals may be advertised as the “perfect gift” for that special someone.
5) iPhone, iPad and Other Hot Holiday Gift Scams – Cybercriminals mention must-have holiday gifts in dangerous links, phony contests and phishing emails to grab readers’ attention and entice them to reveal personal information or click on a dangerous link that could download malware onto their machines.
6) Skype Message Scare – People around the world will use Skype to connect with loved ones this holiday season, but they need to be aware of a new Skype message scam that attempts to infect their machines and even hold their files for ransom.
7) Bogus Gift Cards – Cybercriminals will offer bogus gift cards online, and shoppers need to be wary of purchasing from third parties to avoid the risk of being scammed.
8) Holiday SMiShing – “SMiShing” is phishing via text message. Scammers pretend to represent legitimate organizations in order to lure shoppers into revealing information or performing an action they normally wouldn’t do.
9) Phony E-tailers – Phony e-commerce sites try to entice users into providing their credit card number and other personal details, often by promoting great deals. But after giving this information, shoppers never receive the merchandise and their personal information is put at risk.
10) Fake Charities – This is one of the biggest scams of every holiday season. As holiday revelers open up their hearts and wallets, criminals hope to take advantage of their generosity by sending spam emails advertising fake charities.
11) Dangerous e-Cards – E-cards are a popular way to send a quick “thank you” or holiday greeting, but some may contain spyware or viruses that download onto users’ computers once they click on the link to view the greeting.
12) Phony Classifieds – Online classified sites may be a great place to look for holiday gifts and part-time jobs, but beware of phony offers that ask for too much personal information or ask for funds to be wired via Western Union, since these are most likely scams.
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