Online retail activity tends to be higher during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but this does not stop millions of Americans from extending their internet shopping throughout December. The holiday shopping season is highly anticipated not just by consumers but also by cybercrime groups who specialize in identity theft. If you suspect that your desktop, laptop, smartphone, or tablet devices are not updated and secure, you should not be using them for online shopping because malicious hackers have become extremely sophisticated and can exploit weaknesses in your system.

[su_note note_color=”#F4f4f4″]Before getting started with your holiday shopping, you should strongly consider contacting A Plus Computers in Apple Valley to schedule a computer diagnosis service, which happens to be free. Should our technicians find issues that would put you at risk while shopping on e-commerce websites over the holidays, adequate recommendations will be made. Aside from checking that the operating system and web browsers are updated with all security fixes, our technicians also look for traces of malware that may have gone undetected by antivirus programs.[/su_note]

With the above in mind, here are a few strategies that internet scammers are planning on using against you this holiday season:

Dear Santa Letters

In recent years, hackers have set up slick-looking websites purportedly offering customized responses from Santa Claus to children who send those perennially sweet Dear Santa letters. These sites ostensibly ask for small donations in exchange for credit card information, and this is when identity theft takes place. Your best bet in this regard is to only deal with companies vetted by the Better Business Bureau.

Bogus Shipping Notifications

This has become a classic phishing attack perpetrated during the holiday season. If you receive a suspicious email asking you to confirm a purchase you know you did not make, do not click on any links on the message. All it takes is a browser redirection or pop-up window plus a couple of clicks for malicious JavaScript to execute and install a keystroke logger to steal your username and passwords.

Seasonal Job Offers

Hackers know that making a few extra dollars during the holidays is very tempting, and for this reason, they will compose phishing attacks purporting to be job offers for part-time work. If the positions are for local establishments, make it a point to call them or apply in person. If your antivirus system has a link evaluation system, you should keep it activated while browsing the web over the holidays.