Hard Times = Smart Scams

We are now in ‘Scams Awareness Month’… you may think that in times of credit crunch and job losses people would be more vigilant towards scams, but actually the reverse is true. In a recent survey by Get Safe Online, 23% said they or a close friend had been a victim of phishing – which is up from 8% the year before. Why… well, it does all come down to money – and the search for a bargain, and where do you turn to for bargains (once the sales are over), why the Internet of course. Unfortunately, this is what the phishers and other cyber criminals also realise this and so they are putting together smarter scams to try and lure even the most careful of people.

My golden rule (which applies to all ‘bargains’) is that if it looks too good to be true – then it probably is. If you are searching around the Internet for a bargain, then ensure that the sites you are on are reputable, or that the sellers are reputable if visiting an online auction site. This can be tough we all know the big brand names, but what about the smaller ones? In an ideal world you would know someone who has also bought something from the site – so ask around, ask people at the office or friends. Make sure you have the anti-phishing filter in the browser switched on. Look for potential tell-tale signs that all is not well – is the address in the browser bar a number (not good), or does it have a strange suffix (if you are in the UK, then a .cn, or .ru would not be pointing to a ‘local’ site and are frequently used by phishers), when you are looking to put in your personal details, is there a padlock to indicate that the communications are secure. If in doubt, navigate away – and clear down the browser caches of cookies just in case.

The UK Government has a great site you can visit for some of the latest scams - of all types (not just the Internet ones). It’s certainly worth a look.

February 11, 2009 | Filed Under Phishing, Spam, cyber-crime 

comments

Leave a Reply