Malwarebytes, a global leader in real-time cyber protection, released new research revealing a slew of holiday-themed scams aimed at consumers this holiday shopping season. The scams involve popular gift-gifting categories, including gaming systems and gift cards, shopping platforms such as Amazon, and shipping services like USPS. Researchers also revealed a 41% uptick in malvertising, or malicious advertising, leading into Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
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The ease and convenience of online shopping has shifted attitudes over the past few years with consumers spending $1.243 trillion online in 2023. While web browsers are the doorway to internet activity and specifically shopping, buyers should be aware that it’s also a convenient platform for fraud. Over the last five years, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) says it’s received 3.79 million complaints for a wide range of internet scams which resulted in $37.4 billion in losses.
“Web-based attacks are the new frontier for hackers,” said Mark Beare, GM of the Consumer Business Unit, Malwarebytes. “For years, attackers needed to get on your desktop to access files or private information. Today, most consumers readily enter and store passwords, credit card numbers, home addresses, and a list of other personal information into browsers and websites. It’s become a playground for criminals looking to make big money. While many consumers think they’re not a target, I caution that it’s not about you—it’s about you at scale.”
“I find the range and quality of brands being spoofed most alarming,” said Jérôme Segura, Senior Director of Threat Intelligence, Malwarebytes. “Criminals are investing money and leveraging AI tools to create very believable fake websites, shopping cart checkout pages, and scams. I urge consumers to avoid any sponsored ad links, be wary of where they enter information, and use browser protection tools to help stop credit card skimming, a truly silent threat.”
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Source – Prnewswire
