Beware of Cyber Crooks

Holiday shopping often gives the gift of fraud

RISMEDIA, December 4, 2006?(MCT)?Click, buy and be wary as you do your holiday shopping online.

This year, more shoppers than ever are flooding the Internet. And that means there will be more cyber thieves than ever eager to fleece bank accounts, make fraudulent purchases and snatch identities.

“You will get every type of cyber thief looking for new and better ways to take your money from you,” said Brian Grayek, vice president of threat content development at information technology software company California.

The potential victim pool has never been greater. Online shopping is expected to rise by 18 percent to $32 billion this holiday season, according to Jupiter Research. And nearly half of all consumers plan to make at least one holiday purchase online this year.

And some will get scammed along the way. About a million people will have their identities stolen online over the Christmas shopping season, predicts Todd Davis, CEO of identity theft prevention company Lifelock.

It gets easier for the fraudsters to pull off scams this time of the year. Because of the high level of purchasing during the season, credit card companies are forced to tone down the software they generally use to root out suspicious transactions.

At the same time, online crooks are getting craftier with more sophisticated bogus e-mails and Web sites masquerading as legitimate retailers, banks or credit card companies.

During the holiday season, scammers often pretend to be PayPal, eBay or Amazon, warned AOL spokesman Andrew Weinstein.

Be wary of e-mails claiming to be from legitimate merchants asking you to “confirm” a purchase or those that “alert” you to possible fraud on your account.

“Ninety-nine percent of the time they will be fake,” Weinstein said. “If you click on that link, you’re taken to a scam Web site where your information is stolen.”

So, before you get out your shopping list and turn on your computer, heed the following tips for a safe shopping experience online:

If you see a suspicious e-mail from a “retailer,” don’t open it. Instead, go directly to the store site.

Don’t believe any e-mail that comes to you saying that you need to log into your account via the included link and reset your password. If you believe your account could have a problem, go directly to a Web site.

Pay for as many of your purchases as you can through a verified online payment system, such as PayPal, that insures your purchases.

“PayPal checks out the vendors. If they don’t find the vendor is legit, they won’t pay,” Grayek said.

Or stick to one credit card and make sure that the issuing bank has a policy to protect you if there are any fraudulent purchases.

Check your credit card purchases online at least once a week. “Don’t wait until you get your bill to find out you have additional purchases on your card that you didn’t order,” Grayek said.

Notify your credit card company immediately if you notice a discrepancy in your bill. Take note of small items. Thieves will often make a very small purchase to make sure it goes through, then follow up with a big one.

Always look for the padlock at the bottom right hand corner of a Web site. This means the site has been proven to be legitimate and secure, said Tim Callan, director of group product marketing at VeriSign.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

Real Estate Hot Topics

Profit Center: Real Estate Tips, Training & Events

RISMedia Solutions

RISMedia on the Go

Today's Featured Listing