Keep cyber criminals at bay this holiday season

Cyber criminals keep an eye on top sales as closely as shoppers do. Top trending gifts and deals especially around the holiday season are used to craft timely phishing scams or fraudulent websites.ggg
Accoriging to Tamim Taufiq, head of Norton Middle East: "UAE consumers remain vulnerable in this regard. The Norton Cyber Security Insights Report says that three in ten (30 per cent) cannot detect a phishing attack, and another nine per cent have to guess between a real message and a phishing email, meaning nearly four UAE consumers in 10 are vulnerable.
"Hackers rely on consumers' appetite for discounts and their wilful ignorance, to fool the unwary."
One in four UAE consumers (25 per cent) don't feel the need to protect their devices whether it be mobile, laptop or a PC.
What can the consumers do?
Beware of offer alerts. Watch out for "offers" that will lead you to a malicious website asking you for your credit card information and other personal data. A lot of these fake offers will try to lure you in with promises of winning free gifts. If you've never heard of the company, or if the known company's logo looks slightly different in some way, get out of there.
Some scammers use text phishing, sending texts pretending to warn people of suspicious activity in their financial account and asking for them to call a bogus number - where they'll be asked to share sensitive information. If you get one of these, contact your financial institution directly.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com
Stay safe on the web
> If it's too good to be true, it probably is - If you've found the latest hot designer shoes, but for a tenth of the price, they're probably not real. Only shop at reputable online sites.
 > Be smart with your passwords - Strong passwords use a mixture of numbers, symbols, and letters in upper and lower case, such as "Ru1)oLp1-1"
 > Organise your online shopping - Set up an email account specifically to deal with online shopping. Provide as little information as possible to get the account set-up.
 > Protect your bank details - Always look out for the 'padlock' icon at the bottom of the browser frame when making a payment online. This symbol indicates that the website you are visiting uses encryption to protect you.
 > Check your statements - Always check your credit card statements as often as possible to look out for unexpected transactions.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com
 

• Dubai