Security Awareness – Protecting Against Scams and Fraud During the Holiday Season

With the holiday season upon us and many taking time off or otherwise distracted, it’s important to remember to be vigilant for cyber scams designed to leverage the “most happiest time of the year.” Therefore, WaterISAC continues sharing posts on awareness of various holiday scams.

According to the consumer protection firm Signifyd’s Fraud Pressure Index, one in four people fell victim to fraud during the holiday season. The five most common scams this season include fake delivery notifications, fake shopping sites and vendors, fake gift cards, fake charities, and fake travel offers. To avoid these scams it’s important to be suspicious, perform research, designate one credit card with a low-credit limit for online purchases, and set up alerts on bank accounts. Read more at HelpNetSecurity.

Additionally, bots or malicious automated software are another pernicious threat this holiday season. The cybersecurity company Kasada recently released a report on bot activity it has observed during this holiday season. Most notably, the company found that there has been a four-fold increase in automated online gift card lookup attempts and a ten-fold increase in malicious login attempts from credential stuffing. There has also been increased use of all-in-one bots (AIO), which has contributed to the newly discovered Grinch bot. The new Grinch bot has become “the de-facto method used for premium hype sales,” according to Kasada. Read more at HelpNetSecurity.