Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday are a Criminal's Playground - How to Stay Safe

With Thanksgiving fast approaching and the holidays quickly on its heels, now is a time of big sales. With the pandemic, more people than ever before are shopping online and looking for the best deals. Unfortunately, this is also when hackers up their game to prey on innocent victims who are trying merely to get their shopping done. 

The Dangers of Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday

Thanksgiving evening is the kick-off of all the big Black Friday sales. As the shopping season ramps up, so do the threats that customers face doing business online. Some of the most common things to watch out for this holiday season are:

Insecure Shopping Carts

As evidenced by the Ticketmaster data breach and many others, hackers have gotten very clever at finding ways to infect legitimate websites with credit card skimmers and other malicious devices and software to steal payment card data and personal information.

Sometimes hackers want this information simply to drain bank accounts or charge items on credit cards (fraud), but sometimes they steal victims' data to later sell on the dark web where personally identifiable information (PII) is worth a lot for identity theft campaigns. 

Phishing Emails Offering "Too Good to be True" Deals

Most Americans' email addresses are out there on the dark web in databases after so many data breaches. Hackers use these to craft very sophisticated-looking emails for phishing campaigns. They may send you something that looks like it came from your bank, credit card company, or another vendor you do business with and trust. In these scams, the threat actor will use pressure maneuvers or scare tactics to try to make you click a link in the email, which takes you to a fake website where you enter your credentials that are then stolen. Other times they simply use the link to infect your computer or device with spyware, malware, or ransomware.  

Sometimes though, they will simply send you what looks like an ad for the best Black Friday deal ever, and excited, you click. That is how a scammer gets you. 

Fake Social Media Ads

The FTC has also seen many reports of victims who clicked on fake social media ads for products they wanted to buy, only to find themselves the victim of fraud or identity theft. 

Be very cautious of any social media ads. If you do click, check the URL of where you end up. Hackers can be tricky and use similar looking web addresses. Verify you are actually on the retailer's website before buying or entering any payment details. 

Holiday Donations Calls

The holidays are the time for giving. Scammers know this and take advantage by calling people to ask for donations. Most of the causes are not real, and all they really want is for you to give them your credit card number or other information over the phone. If anyone asks you to donate or pressures you to do so right now, hang up the phone. If they ask you to purchase prepaid gift cards to send in donations, it is a scam for sure.

How to Protect Yourself This Holiday Season

This holiday season, you want to just check things off your list without the hassle of having to worry about scammers at your door. To stay safe while also grabbing those great deals on Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, follow these tips:

• Be sure your computer or mobile device is updated with the latest security patches.
• Install and use strong antivirus/anti-malware software. Run deep scans often.
• Before purchasing from any website, be sure to look for HTTPS in the URL bar. If it says HTTP, don't enter payment information, it will be over an insecure connection and can be intercepted by thieves.
• Review the website's privacy policy to see how they plan on using your customer data.
• Consider using a VPN to mask your IP address and all your online activity. 
• When creating a new online account, use robust passwords with a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
• Never connect to public Wi-Fi or unsecured hotspots to make payments or log into your bank.
• Only purchase from trusted online merchants.
• Be sure to sign up for 2-factor authentication on all accounts that offer it.
• Pay using a digital wallet (like PayPal or ApplePay) rather than entering your credit card data.
• Watch out for phishing emails. Some may appear with messy English and bad grammar, but others might be perfect and look very legitimate.
• Never click a link in an email.

After the Sales are Over

Once you have beaten the rush and grabbed all the great deals over the holiday weekend, keep a close eye on things to make sure nothing fell through the cracks.

• Review your bank and credit card statements looking for any suspicious charges or unauthorized activity.
• Review your credit reports looking for the same and to watch out for identity theft.
• Report any instances immediately to your bank and the FTC.