Cyber-Criminals Exploit Approaching Black Friday and Thanksgiving

Symantec the security company just detected many spam as well as scam runs, which exploit periods such as the 'Thanksgiving' day of 28th November, 2013 and 'Black Friday' of 29th November 2013. As these holidays are about to come, innumerable people may access lucrative benefits that the majority of retailers promise; nevertheless, online scammers and spammers have as well started exploiting the events to acquire personal advantages, Symantec adds.

In one instance, spammers reportedly are dispatching junk e-mails that attempt at drawing Internet users' interest by presenting unbelievable concessions alternatively simply dispatching news about any particular sale by most popular trademarks. Those Internauts becoming victims are usually people without the prior knowledge of the spammers' tricks. There are essentially web-links inside the catchy e-mails that lead onto bogus sites, which further divert the Web surfers onto pages they did not ever desire.

Within several instances, the products (gift items like electronic gift cards, cars and watches) ordered via online sites that are canvassed through forceful spam campaigns never get delivered. In the end, victims even pay up to actually get fake products.

One more tactic which the spammers use for victimizing end-users is 'survey spam.' The surveys offer ways to make fast revenue, mostly through discount cards else vouchers. These spam messages have web-links that take onto bogus surveys where end-users are made to disclose personal information while answering cunningly disguised queries.

Therefore, it is advisable that people doing any online shopping for Thanksgiving and Black Friday should ensure they access the sites belonging to only trustworthy businesses. They must become cautious if they get prompted to provide private details, while ensure they're on websites safeguarded with HTTPS connection. Further, they should not follow web-links alternatively attachments sent through uninvited e-mails and remember that unbelievably tempting deals are quite possible to be a scam.

And likewise the above event exploitations, GFI Software another security company, during January 2011, witnessed Internauts getting targeted with various malware-laden spam mails, URL links as well as other delivery techniques pledging discounts and information related to festive seasons, or free software along with Christmas e-cards.

» SPAMfighter News - 11/27/2013