THE FIRST SCAM OF THE SEASON
PROTECT YOUR DIGITAL LIFE™
During the holidays we shop more, click more, and sign up for more deals. Cybercriminals exploit this by impersonating legitimate retailers, setting up phoney websites, or capturing payment data in checkout flows.
Warning signs
- Unexpected emails or texts claiming there’s a “problem with your shipment/account/payment”
- A link or attachment you weren’t anticipating
- The sender’s email address doesn’t look right (e.g., “@amazon-offers.com” instead of “@amazon.com”)
- Urgency: “Act now or your gift will be delayed”
How to stay safe
- Don’t click links or open attachments unless you have verified the sender independently
- When in doubt, go to the retailer’s website by typing their URL yourself rather than via the link
- Enable multifactor authentication (MFA) on your email and major accounts
- Regularly update the operating system and apps on your devices so malicious attachments have less chance of being effective should you click on them in error