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| Sophos warns that users dazzled by the Christmas
lights may be blind to online risks. |
Experts at SophosLabs™, Sophos's global
network of virus, spyware and spam analysis centers, have warned
online shoppers to be careful as they scramble to buy last minute
gifts for the holiday season.
Hoping to take advantage of the rush, spammers and scammers are
working overtime to trick the unwary and unguarded with old and new
schemes. Pushing shoddy merchandise and deception, cybercrime runs
rampant during the holidays.
"Lurking behind that offer for a faux Rolex or Louis Vuitton
knockoff may be a more sinister transaction that goes well beyond
the usual con," said Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant at Sophos. "Frantic buyers, in an effort to
save time and money by shopping online, may also be inviting
criminals onto computers, opening up the possibility of credit card
fraud and identity theft."
A poll conducted by Sophos* has revealed that security fears
have made 69% of shoppers more cautious about purchasing goods
online.
"People want to buy online because of the variety of goods on
offer, and the convenience of surfing to an online store rather
than fitting in a real-life visit during a busy day," continued
Cluley. "However, consumers also worry about exposing themselves to
the very real threat of hacker attack."
Sophos, whilst reminding users that they should be aware of
computer security threats all year round, offers a list of simple
tips to help keep the holiday season joyful and ensure consumers
stay safe online:
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Beware of people selling merchandise via unsolicited
email.
Spammers take advantage of the holidays, so expect more email with
offers for Rolex watches and other luxury watches (in late 2004
these offers rose by more than
300%).
-
Don't be fooled by holiday email.
Virus and Trojan horse writers often use holiday themed "e-cards"
and other tricks to attack unsuspecting users. For instance, the
prevalent Zafi-D worm
spreads as an attachment in an email message wishing "Happy
Hollydays".
-
Be on the alert for phishing scams.
During the shopping season money and credit are on the minds of
many consumers, but giving out confidential information is a no-no,
no matter how real the request looks.
-
Think before you click.
Be wary of clicking on links contained inside HTML emails because
they may direct you to a different website entirely, set up by the
hackers.
-
Keep up-to-date.
Make sure your anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-spam and firewall
software are up to date, and that your browser and operating system
include the latest patches and fixes. More viruses, worms and
Trojan horses were seen last
month than any previous month in history so it's more important
than ever to run the latest protection.
-
Don't try, don't buy, don't reply.
No matter how tempting or authentic an email may seem, unless you
are 100% certain it is legitimate, delete it. If an offer seems too
good to be true, it probably is.
Consumers should continue to step up their vigilance in 2006 by
only giving their personally identifiable information (PII) - for
instance, Social Security Number, name and address or phone number,
bank account, credit card number, email, etc - to trusted parties,
and they should shred all discarded documents containing PII.
* Sophos web poll. 510 respondents, November
2005.
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.