Warning out vs Christmas cyberscams

Published November 22, 2011 6:20pm

While mobile and online shopping offer convenience, ease and better deals during the holidays, cybercriminals also threaten to ruin such an experience, a computer security firm warned.

Trend Micro said cybercriminals may exploit a projected 78-percent hike in US shopper volume by 2014, and the 43 percent of Web-enabled smartphone users use their devices to shop.

“As online shopping becomes widely preferred as a primary method for purchasing items, online shoppers will also become preferred cybercriminal attack targets. Cybercriminals are continuously launching attacks, any or all of the following shopper information: credit card credentials, online banking personal identification numbers, and other personal data,” it said.

It said some of the attacks may include:

Blackhat SEO (search engine optimization) attacks: Search results for hot items such as gadgets and others can be poisoned to lead users to malicious sites.

Scams: coming off as online promos, scams trick users into becoming victims of their malicious schemes that can lead to information and financial theft.

Session hijacking: Users who do their shopping while connected to unsecure networks put themselves at risk with cybercriminals sniffing through networks for certain kinds of information such as account credentials, and using such information to impersonate the users and execute actions.

“Shoppers need not be helpless against these attacks, however, as they can implement security measures and can use solutions that help them avoid being victimized,” Trend Micro said. — TJD, GMA News

Tags: trendmicro, cybersecurity, scams