As we approach the double-date e-commerce sales campaigns such as 10/10 and Amazon Prime Day discounts, cybercriminals have already been gearing up to scam all and sundry with their fake phishing and email scams.
According to analysts from Check Point Software, over 1,000 new domains have been registered by dubious characters trying to create spoof popular e-commerce websites to trick people into submitting login credentials and other sensitive personal data.
The firm has also sniffed out over 100 different scam emails in its user ecosystem in the past two weeks. These phishing emails all use the old trick of alerting recipients to take immediate action to update their payment methods or address due to fictitious billing issues and delivery failures.
Tips for safe online-shopping
Readers are reminded to observe strong cyber hygiene at work and at home. While shopping online, follow already well-established tips and best-practices, and the following safeguards offered by Check Point:
- Check URLs carefully: Be wary of misspellings or websites using a different top-level domain (e.g., .co instead of .com). These copycat sites may look attractive but are designed to steal your data.
- Create strong passwords Ensure your password for accessing shopping websites is strong and uncrackable, not just during year-end shopping seasons, but all the time.
- Look for the “HTTPS:” prefix: Verify that the shopping website you are directed to, starts with “https://” in its URL address, and has a padlock icon, indicating a secure connection.
- Limit submission of personal information: Avoid sharing unnecessary personal details like your birthday with online retailers.
- Be cautious with urgent alert emails:Phishing attacks often use urgent language to trick you into clicking links or downloading attachments. Always triple-verify the source, and assume any such emails are dubious by default.
- Be skeptical of unrealistic deals:If a deal seems too good to be true, it likely is. Trust your instincts and avoid suspicious offers.
- Use credit cards: Prefer credit cards over debit cards for online shopping as they offer better protection and less liability if stolen.
Cybercriminals are using generative AI to create highly-convincing scams and phishing emails. Therefore, it is best to not just ensure strong online-shopping anti-scam instincts, but also make your account inaccessible even if cybercriminals could break in.
Organizations are advised to invest in enhanced cyber security measures such as anti-phishing technology, and to continually educate staff on cybersecurity vigilance.
