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This time of year, the air not only gets chillier but a bit cheerier for everyone … including online scammers. Holiday scams are a quick way to make a buck, and cybercriminals employ several holiday-themed schemes to weasel money and personally identifiable information (PII) from gift givers.
Here are three common holiday scams to watch out for this year, plus a few tips to help you stay safe online.
Gift cards are a standby present for the people on your list who are difficult to buy for or for people you don’t know too well but want to get them a small something. Whether the gift card is worth $5 or $500, an online scammer can steal the entire value through two techniques: a brute force attack or phishing. Known as gift card cracking, cybercriminals can take wild guesses at gift card codes and cash in the value for themselves by methodically guessing strings of numbers and letters and crossing their fingers for a match. Cybercriminals will also employ phishing emails, texts or social media direct messages to trick people into divulging gift card information.
To avoid gift card cracking, encourage gift receivers to redeem their gift card quickly to shorten the amount of time a scammer has to guess the code correctly. Or, you could opt for a paper gift certificate from a small business that doesn’t require online redeeming at all. To avoid gift card phishing scams, do not engage with any type of correspondence that claims they can double the value of your gift card or claims that there’s a problem with it. Be instantly on alert if anyone asks for the activation code. If the gift card-issuing business really needs to replace your purchase, they’ll issue you a new code. They’ll never ask for your existing one.
Are you a procrastinator? Watch out for last-minute shopping scams that are targeted at people who leave their gift buying until deep in December. As with anything else, if it’s too good to be true, it probably is. Shopping scams often take the form of phishing emails where criminals impersonate a well-known merchant or shipping company.
While sales often have a quick timeline, don’t let that short timeline pressure you into making an impulsive decision. Phishers rely on people’s excitement or inattention to trick them into giving up their credit card or banking information. Phishing emails, when you take the time to inspect them, are usually easy to spot. The logos are often blurry, there are often typos and grammar mistakes, and the tone of the message will seem “off.” Either it will sound very formal and impersonalized or it will sound very informal and seem pushy.
To protect your finances during the holiday season, consider putting a lock on your credit. This is easy to do with McAfee credit lock. You can still use your credit card and shop as you normally would. A credit lock is useful because, in case a criminal gets ahold of your PII, they won’t be able to open lines of credit in your name. This protects your credit score, which is essential to keep in good standing if you hope to buy a house or take out a loan anytime soon.
Just because a “company” has an ad on Facebook or Instagram doesn’t mean that it’s a legitimate establishment. Before buying from an online store you’ve never heard of, do some background research on it and read customer reviews to make sure that it’s real and will deliver you a quality product.
Take note of the online store’s URL before entering it. (You can preview the link by hovering over it with your cursor.) If the URL is a string of letters and numbers, it could be a malware site in disguise. One way to alert you to suspicious sites is McAfee Web Protection. Web Protection color codes links to identify potential malware and phishing sites and alert you to steer clear.
Your mind is already drawn in a bunch of different directions this holiday season (cooking, traveling, shopping, wrapping, tidying) so give yourself a respite from worrying about the safety of your identity and finances. McAfee+ Ultimate includes a VPN, Web Protection, credit lock, antivirus and more to cover all your bases to keep your devices and your PII safe.
The post ‘Tis the Season for Holiday Scams appeared first on McAfee Blog.
The holidays are almost here! That means it’s time to start making your list and checking it twice. To help prepare you for this year’s holiday shopping spree, McAfee is providing you with the ultimate holiday shopping list for every Tech lover in your family. Here are the devices to keep on your radar this holiday shopping season and what you should use to protect them.
Know someone who enjoys vanquishing aliens, building virtual amusement parks, and online battle royale? There’s a good chance that you do, as online gaming traffic increased 30% from the first to the second quarter of 2020. For the gaming guru in your life, consider gifting them a top-of-the-line gaming laptop so, they don’t have to compromise portability for playability. If they prefer to play in the comfort of their own home, consider giving the gamer in your life a snazzy new gaming monitor. This will allow them to enjoy a crystal-clear resolution, rapid refresh rate, and size to bring their virtual world to life. And to truly immerse your gamer in a new realm, gift them a new gaming console so they can enjoy optimal speed and stellar game lineups.
When shopping for your gamer, consider how you can empower them to stay secure while they play. A security solution like McAfee Gamer Security not only delivers a faster, quieter, and safer experience, but it can also boost a rig’s performance. This antivirus software detects threats through the cloud and optimizes resources to minimize frame drops. Gamers can even customize which games to boost (or even add other apps they’d like to boost), which background services to pause, and more. This improves your gamer’s experience and also keeps them safe while they play.
Does your tech-savvy teen love to browse on the go? Or perhaps you have a college student who likes to bring their online studying and video streaming with them beyond the home. For the mobile mastermind in your family, gift them a new smartphone or tablet this holiday season. These devices will allow your loved ones to access all their favorite apps and surf the web anytime, anywhere.
With the World Wide Web constantly at their fingertips, enable your family members to surf the internet with confidence by employing the help of a safe browsing solution like McAfee WebAdvisor. This trusty companion, available for free and included in the McAfee Total Protection app for iOS and Android, helps keep users safe from threats like malware and phishing attempts. Web Advisor blocks malicious sites, scans downloads, and alerts the user if a known threat is detected. With comprehensive security on their side, your mobile user will be free to search, stream, and download on the go.
The number of smart households (households that contain connected technology and can interact with other IoT devices) in the U.S. is expected to grow to 77.05 million by 2025. That may not come as a surprise, since IoT devices have upped the convenience of tech users’ lives everywhere. Perhaps your spouse or parents love filling their home with the latest and greatest smart home gadgets. This holiday season, give them the gift of convenience with a smart TV, speaker, thermostat, kitchen appliances, a personal home assistant – the list of smart home devices goes on!
While these devices can provide greater efficiency to anyone’s life, it’s important to be aware of the potential risks that come with this level of interconnectivity. Many product designers treat security as an afterthought, rushing to get their smart devices to market and consequentially creating an easy access point for criminals to exploit. But fear not! A solution like McAfee Secure Home Platform can automatically secure connected devices through a router with McAfee protection. It can hide your IoT devices from hackers, giving you the confidence that you have a solid line of defense against online threats.
For the Fitness Fanatic
At the onset of the pandemic, people adjusted their workout routines to accommodate for gym closures and began to rely on other solutions to stay fit. In fact, many turned to IoT devices used for virtual fitness, including wearable fitness trackers and stationary machines equipped with digital interfaces. Sound like someone you know? Consider giving them a stylish new or upgraded smartwatch that allows them to track their daily step count, heart rate, and sleep patterns.
While these devices can be instrumental in tracking users’ activity levels, it’s important to remember that wearable gadgets collect valuable health and location data a criminal could exploit. To keep your fitness fanatic happy and healthy without sweating their security, encourage them to install software updates immediately. This will protect your loved one’s device from reported bugs, enhance functionality, and seal up any security loopholes.
As you plan your holiday shopping list this year, don’t forget about the gift that keeps on giving: the peace of mind that comes with having the right online security! With comprehensive solutions built to safeguard your loved one’s devices, personal data, and everything they do online, they can continue to live their digital lives with confidence.
The post The Ultimate Holiday Shopping Guide appeared first on McAfee Blog.
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