McAfee Cautions People about “The Twelve Scams of Christmas”

Security firm 'McAfee' has disclosed the twelve most malicious online scams that online users should be careful of in the coming holiday season by which hackers are preparing to take advantage of the holiday season.

Consumer Reports' 2009 State of the Net Survey states that hackers robbed $8 Billion from consumers in the last two years, and McAfee alerts consumers not to be trapped by the leading scams this year.

McAfee's scams of Christmas primarily include - 'Charity phishing Scams,' 'Fake Invoice from Delivery Companies to Pilfer Money,' 'Social Networking - A Cyber Criminal Wishes to be Friend,' 'Risks from Holiday E-Cards,' and "Luxury" Holiday Jewelry at a High Price.

Besides, the McAfee's list include - 'Practice Safe Shopping During Holiday - Online PI Theft Rising,' 'Christmas Carol Lyrics Could Be Dangerous -Dangerous Holiday Searches,' 'Out of Work - Job-Oriented E-mail Scams,' 'Outbidding for Crime - Auction Site Scam,' and 'Password Stealing Scams.'

Finally, ransomware scams, mail banking scams are some other major scams that McAfee reported.

Jeff Green, Senior Vice President of McAfee Labs, has said that hackers use their best methods in holidays to target people's money, credit card information, social security number and identity, as per the news by BUSINESS.REDIFF.COM on November 20, 2009.

Green has also commented that these attackers follow recurring trends and develop holiday-related sites, scams and other persuasive mails that can deceive even the most careful users.

To thwart the abovementioned scams, McAfee suggests web users to obey some basic guidelines for safety of their system and private information. First of all, users should not click on web links in unsolicited mails rather should directly visit the firm or charity's site by entering the web address or using a search engine. Secondly, users should have an updated security solution that can protect the system from viruses, spyware, malware and other risks.

Thirdly, users should banks and shop on safe networks and should always check bank accounts or do online shopping on safe networks at work or home, wireless or wired. Lastly, users should choose different passwords and should be careful enough not to click on any illegitimate product.

Related article: McAfee Alerts Windows about Accessibility Hole in Vista

» SPAMfighter News - 12/1/2009