The “12 Scams of Christmas”

With yesterday’s “Cyber Monday” a thing of the not-so-distant past, let’s not forget about the cyber-safety tips that arrived, courtesy of Internet security vendor McAfee, on the cusp of what was to be one of the year’s biggest online shopping days as well as the start of the online shopping season. McAfee organized its advice according to an easy-to-remember schema: Simply replace your “true love” with a “cyber-criminal” and you have a fraud-prevention holiday song that practically writes itself.

Without further adieu, we bring you McAfee’s “12 Scams of Christmas,” as reported by news outlets including CNET, ABC News, Fox News:

·  Charity phishing scams: E-mails from organizations purporting to be charities aren’t always what they seem. Some will take your money and even steal your personal and credit card information without sharing as much as a dime with legitimate organizations.

·  Fake delivery invoices: Imposters claiming to be representatives of Federal Express, UPS, the U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Customs Service may ask you for address confirmation and credit card information to ensure a delivery. Suffice it to say, this ends with a different and unwelcome sort of surprise.

·  Fake “friend” requests: Fraudsters sometimes e-mail “friend” requests intended to look as though they are coming from legitimate social networking sites like Facebook. The goal is to get you to click on links that install malware or take you to bogus login sites that steal password info. The way to avoid this kind of fraud is to always go to social networking sites directly to look for friend requests, rather than click on e-mail links.

·  Holiday e-cards: Bogus e-cards are good mediums for delivering malware.  McAfee reports that worms have been found in cards purporting to come from legitimate companies like Hallmark. If you don’t know the source of an e-card or it looks suspicious, the best bet is to never open it in the first place. If you wish to do so, enter the address manually in your browser.  

·  Jewels of the vile: Sometimes scammers try to entice people with ads for luxury items from brands like Gucci or Cartier—usually at a price that’s too good to be true. It is. As with other scams, links might be malware-delivery mechanisms. Those who purchase goods may not ever see them (or they might get cheap imitations). To be extra-convincing, some of these scam sites even incorporate the Better Business Bureau logo in their design. 

·  Good Wi-Fi Hygiene: It’s important to make sure your wireless network is safe and your online shopping sites are secure. For safe Wi-Fi, the best bet is to do all your shopping on non-public Wi-Fi signals. As far as shopping Web sites go, look for the lock icon in the lower right corner of your browser and make sure the Web page starts with https rather than http. That "s" means "secure."

·  Watch what you Google: With all of the interest in Christmas Carol lyrics and other aspects of holiday cheer, scammers set up holiday-themed Web sites designed to install malware on computers. The best way to avoid becoming a victim is to run up-to-date anti-virus software and watch out for links with egregious misspellings or other errors – which can be an indicator of an impostor site.

·  Employment scams: The bad economy isn’t going away for the holidays, so there is sure to be plenty of job-seekers looking for work. Scammers will no doubt respond in tow, offering promises of high-paying jobs or work-from-home schemes that are, again, too good to be true. Never give a potential employer money up front—this could simply be a way for a criminal to extract both money and your credit card information. You could also get wrapped up in a money-laundering scheme.

·  Going, going…fraud: Some auction sites are bogus, so make sure if you’re visiting Craigslist or eBay you’re on the real URL. Some auction offers are bogus, too, so be sure to ask a lot of questions of sellers and be mindful of how you’re being asked to pay. Up-to-date browsing technology can also help you steer clear of malware-infected sites.

·  Password thieves: An online password can be a real boost to a cyber-criminal trying to steal your identity. That’s why scammers like to employ software delivered through malicious sites – intended to log your keystrokes and steal passwords – that allow them to get your banking, credit card or e-mail information. Again, be careful about what sites you visit and make sure your security software is up-to-date.

·  Financial Phishing: Scammers will send e-mails, purporting to come from financial institutions, intended to trick the recipient into turning over sensitive account information. As with social networking sites, if you ever need to access your account, enter the information manually rather than follow links. 

·  Ransomware: Sometimes hackers will use malware to infiltrate a person’s computer and freeze up all of their files. Then they offer to unlock this data for a fee, hence the name “ransomware.”