The Christmas holidays are not only the best time for you but also for cybercriminals/scammers, who take advantage of increased shopping and lax security measures of online retailers.
The holiday is a pleasant time for everyone and is usually accompanied by intense activity in terms of online shopping. Users search the Internet to buy gifts for their loved ones. On the other hand, e-commerce store operators try to attract customers with discounts and offers. This is exactly the situation (increased interest in purchases and offers) that cybercriminals exploit .And what they mainly exploit is the more relaxed security measures that retailers and financial institutions implement during this period.
According to new research, the coming weeks will be particularly dangerous for credit card holders, banks and related businesses.
The data reveals that the volume of compromised payment cards sold on the dark web during the November-January holiday season is increased compared to previous months and the same is predicted for this year's holidays.
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It is worth noting that scammers are adapting their tactics to try to evade financial companies, police and agencies .
Cybercriminals are taking advantage of the situation
During the holiday season, fraud becomes more prevalent as criminals take advantage of lax “rules” from both banks and retailers. Some e-commerce sites have been found to disable security features (e.g., for user authentication). Such actions taken during the holiday season can help fraudsters.
Additionally, scammers can target more relaxed consumer habits this time of year. In fact, dark web forums are overflowing with threads and posts showing interest in holiday-themed phishing and scam pages. Phishing panels are also increasingly popular as a way to bypass two-factor authentication.
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Additionally, keep in mind that just like legitimate businesses, cybercriminals also take advantage of the holidays to post discounts and offers. Recorded Future has observed an increase in discounted services on the dark web for the past three years. For example, last November, on a popular dark web forum, a service used to compromise users’ bank account logins was discounted by 30%.
Protection
Here’s what organizations (retailers and banking platforms) can do to protect themselves: they need to gain information about the risks they may face. These risks include discount code abuse, account takeovers, and vulnerabilities in online systems that hackers exploit.
It is also important to inform customers about the risks during the holiday season. It is important to be aware of seasonal phishing and to inform them about proper protection (regular device and app updates, use of trusted online stores, etc.). From the merchant/financial institution's perspective, a step in the right direction would be to strengthen anti-fraud measures instead of relaxing them.
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However, in what is expected to be a difficult time for retailers due to economic difficulties around the world, many will be reluctant to put in place more protections that would potentially inconvenience potential customers. Some behind-the-scenes fraud prevention mechanisms could be key to balancing customer experience with risk.
However, beyond financial institutions and retailers, ordinary consumers also need to be vigilant. Cybercriminals are always looking for new ways to exploit unsuspecting shoppers, and the holidays provide plenty of opportunities.
Source: www.infosecurity-magazine.com
