Buyer Beware!
You can't escape from the adverts. The American Thanksgiving sales day has been ported over into the UK as a promise of great deals for Christmas shoppers, many taking to online outlets to beat the queues.Retailers such as Amazon, John Lewis and Argos are predicting a record breaking weekend for their online sales. But as with any event that gets users eager to snap up deals online, the criminals are lurking just around the corner ready to take exploit any unsuspecting shoppers.
Stick to what you know (and what you want!)
(responsible) Online retailers have been preparing for their bumper weekend sales with various systems in place to cope with the expected demand, and they should have been preparing for any attempted cyber attacks that might try to knock their servers off-line and replace them with counterfeit copies ready to steal your details.
Likewise, as a savvy shopper, you need to be on your guard and keep the following points in mind.
HTTPS://
Don't go searching for new sites that offer better than good deals. Previously unscrupulous types have been known to setup online stores with unbeatable deals on it, with a valid HTTPS certificate, all looking genuine and trustworthy, happy to process your order, take your money, then shut down with the owners disappearing into the night with your hard earned cash. Stick to the sites you trust and have used before.
Last year, in the week before Black Friday, the number of spam emails link back to known fraudulent websites that included the term 'Black Friday' and 'Sales' saw a 25% increase.
[Details: https://www.threatmetrix.com/blog/cyber-crime/online-retailers-set-for-cybercrime-christmas/]
Antivirus
Does your antivirus program check your internet activity? Is it up to date? Make sure your answer is YES to both these questions before buying from online stores.
And that applies to smartphones and tablets too...
And that applies to Apple devices too...
Passwords
When you shop online, you're going to inevitably end up creating accounts at various retailers websites. So how are you going to remember all those new passwords? Well you can either use the same password over and over again (Which is a really really really really really really really bad idea) or you can use a password manager tool (which is a much better idea)
Public WiFi
Make sure you know and trust the internet connection you are using. If you're in a public space, like your favourite high-street coffee shop, and you connect to their free wifi, how can you be sure it's secure? Setting up a mobile wifi hotspot to spoof well-known hotspot networks only takes moments and could mean you're passing your details to a criminal and your christmas credit card bill might be more than you expected.
Buying from an app?
This year has seen a surge in the use of fake apps trying to con users into installing them with claims of being able to find the deals that aren't available anywhere else. Unsurprisingly, these apps don't offer the kinds of deals you're after, they are more likely to plunder your phone for personal information and pass that back to the crooks who wrote the app.If you're going to be shopping online via and app, make sure you only download from official app stores, and use an antivirus program that checks installed apps for authenticity before installing them.
Making A List And Checking It Twice
Be like Father Christmas himself, and make a list! Then stick to it!
Need Help?
If you need help securing your devices for online shopping, give us a call now.
#WeCanHelp
tinsleyNET IT Services Consultant
IT Support for small to medium sized businesses, home office workers and home users across the West Midlands and Shropshire.
Comments
Post a Comment