Online Holiday Shopping: More Consumers, More Scammers

Online holiday shopping during the pandemic creates privacy issues not just for your employees, but for your company as well. This season, consumers need to be extra diligent to protect their data privacy against these rising risks: cybercriminals on the prowl, cyber threats, shopping scams, and retailers who may not be implementing correct security measures, according to Veracode’s latest State of Software Security Report. And as with most digital trends, cybercriminals will be where the people go online, targeting both the customer and online retailers alike.

Did you miss our webinar, Holiday Shopping Season — How to Minimize Privacy Risk to Your Employees? In it, we outline how to implement a personal privacy protection solution for your employees to help mitigate risks. You can catch it on demand now!

The FBI urges consumers to remain vigilant and recently issued, ‘Tis the Season for Holiday Scams, in which it warned that shoppers “should be aware of increasingly aggressive and unorthodox scams designed by criminals to steal money and personal information,” including:

• Online Shopping Scams: Without a skeptical eye, consumers may end up paying for an item, giving away personal information, and receive nothing in return except a compromised identity.
• Payment Red Flags: Be cautious of sellers and websites that demand payment solely through gift cards. Scammers sometimes encourage shoppers to conduct wire transfers, allowing criminals to quickly receive illicit funds.
• Charity Scams: Criminals use phone calls, email campaigns, and fake websites to solicit on behalf of fraudulent charities.

The Washington Post offers these 5 shopping tips for online shoppers:

1. Don’t use your debit card.
2. Don’t be fooled because of your frugality.
3. Don’t store credit card information online.
4. Check out as a guest.
5. Check out the merchant’s history.

For more tips to help your employees manage their privacy and identity, download the HR to the Rescue whitepaper.