The busiest shopping season is here, and cybercriminals are just as busy as bargain hunters.With the revenues from holiday sales online increasing year on year, the level of reported internet scams and other forms of crime is rising as well.
One of the biggest threats during the shopping season is online phishing. Phishing victims usually receive emails that look likemessages from legitimate online vendors, such as Amazon.Such emailsask to click on a link, whichmay, in turn, ask to submit theuser’s personal information.
“Unsuspecting shoppers may believe they are on their vendor’s website, while they are actually on a fake sitedesigned to extract their personal information,” said Ruby Gonzalez, Communications Director at NordVPN, a VPN service provider.
“Even thoughhackers are getting more and moresophisticated, it’s still possibleto recognize that you are visiting a fake site. Be especially cautious if you have clicked on alink or button received through an email – a well-designed phishing email may feature the logo and the general look of your favorite brand. It may even lead you to a sitethat looks like the real one. ”
The truth is, if a person is untrained in cybersecurity, a phishing email can easily lead themto sharesensitive information willingly and expose themselves to hackers. NordVPN offers easy online security tips to avoid phishing attacks and stay safe online.
Tips for spotting a phishing email:
1. Check thesender’s address. Don’t just trust the display name – pay attention to the email address. If the domain looks suspicious (e.g., info@secure.apple.com), don’t open the email.
2. Look for spelling and grammar mistakes. Serious companies don’t usually send out emails with bad grammar and basic spelling mistakes.
3. Take a look at the greeting. Your bank or another legitimate institution would often address you with your full name. If you see a vague “Dear user” instead, remain vigilant.
4. Don’t click on links– instead, hover your mouse on the button to see the destination link. Check if it looks legitimate and, especially, if it contains the “https”part to indicate a secure connection.
5.When in doubt, contact your bank or other institution over the phone or alternative email address and ask to confirm if the email is legitimate.
For additional safety, use a VPN. Using a VPN when browsing can protect you against malware and phishing that targets online access points.
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This entry was posted on November 23, 2018 at 7:00 am and is filed under Commentary with tags NordVPN. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Guest Post: NordVPN Discusses Phishing During Holiday Shopping Season And How To Stay Safe
The busiest shopping season is here, and cybercriminals are just as busy as bargain hunters.With the revenues from holiday sales online increasing year on year, the level of reported internet scams and other forms of crime is rising as well.
One of the biggest threats during the shopping season is online phishing. Phishing victims usually receive emails that look likemessages from legitimate online vendors, such as Amazon.Such emailsask to click on a link, whichmay, in turn, ask to submit theuser’s personal information.
“Unsuspecting shoppers may believe they are on their vendor’s website, while they are actually on a fake sitedesigned to extract their personal information,” said Ruby Gonzalez, Communications Director at NordVPN, a VPN service provider.
“Even thoughhackers are getting more and moresophisticated, it’s still possibleto recognize that you are visiting a fake site. Be especially cautious if you have clicked on alink or button received through an email – a well-designed phishing email may feature the logo and the general look of your favorite brand. It may even lead you to a sitethat looks like the real one. ”
The truth is, if a person is untrained in cybersecurity, a phishing email can easily lead themto sharesensitive information willingly and expose themselves to hackers. NordVPN offers easy online security tips to avoid phishing attacks and stay safe online.
Tips for spotting a phishing email:
1. Check thesender’s address. Don’t just trust the display name – pay attention to the email address. If the domain looks suspicious (e.g., info@secure.apple.com), don’t open the email.
2. Look for spelling and grammar mistakes. Serious companies don’t usually send out emails with bad grammar and basic spelling mistakes.
3. Take a look at the greeting. Your bank or another legitimate institution would often address you with your full name. If you see a vague “Dear user” instead, remain vigilant.
4. Don’t click on links– instead, hover your mouse on the button to see the destination link. Check if it looks legitimate and, especially, if it contains the “https”part to indicate a secure connection.
5.When in doubt, contact your bank or other institution over the phone or alternative email address and ask to confirm if the email is legitimate.
For additional safety, use a VPN. Using a VPN when browsing can protect you against malware and phishing that targets online access points.
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This entry was posted on November 23, 2018 at 7:00 am and is filed under Commentary with tags NordVPN. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.