Urgent Christmas warning issued to anyone who owns an iPhone or Android
GADGET users are being warned about dangerous Christmas scams – don’t get caught.
Cyber experts have issued a warning about five common pitfalls and how to avoid them.
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Christmas is a popular time for scams: people are cheerful and ready to spend money.
But that means you have to be on high alert, or you might get into a dangerous prank.
“The holiday season is a very tempting time for shopping. However, with this encouragement comes an opportunity for scammers to take advantage of people’s willingness to spend,” said Ariana Bag, a fraud analyst at Proxyrack.
“With this in mind, it is important to remain vigilant and aware of any potential scams that may come your way.”
Five common scams to watch out for
The first common online scam is related to suspicious links.
You may be able to get it via email or text message to your iPhone or Android.
But if it doesn’t look legit, don’t click on it.
Always check that the sender’s phone number or email address matches the company they claim to be from.
Next is browser extensions – which is often safe, but not always.
You might be tempted by a “money saving” browser extension.
But it can often be developed by scammers to steal your private data.
Third up is invoice scams. This is where someone sends you a message posing as a company you bought something from.
They will often claim that your payment failed and that you need to update your information immediately.
“The best way to avoid losing money to this form of fraud is to contact the company or your bank directly to request more information about the issue,” said cyber expert Ariana.
“These scams often come with a sense of urgency, saying that if you don’t send over the details straight away, you’ll miss out on the deal and savings – another sign that these claims are bogus.”
Fourth is unknown websitesbecause scammers will often create fake pages that offer products at very cheap prices.
But this is usually a trick to steal your bank details.
“It’s also important to be careful about the websites you order from, the deals can look great until you realize they’re actually a way for scammers to access your personal information and bank details,” explained Ariana.
“Double check the website URL before you order anything to make sure it’s the official company website and if you don’t recognize the name of the company, I’d recommend avoiding it altogether.”
Fifth and finally, be careful of verification code scams.
This is when hackers try to get your two-factor authentication code that allows you to log into websites.
They may pose as a company – or even a friend or family member – asking for your code.
Never ever share a verification code you received via SMS with anyone. It is almost always a scam.
Remember: the trusted person you think is asking for your code may have been hacked themselves.
Featured image credit: Android / Unsplash / The Sun
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