Q&A with SDSU cybersecurity expert Lance Larson.
Many shoppers are seeking out good deals this inflationary holiday season. The best prices can often be found online but cyber scammers are also armed with a variety of tactics to separate us from our money.
Lance Larson is co-director of San Diego State University’s graduate program in Homeland Security. NewsCenter’s Susanne Clara Bard asked the cybersecurity expert what to watch out for when it comes to online scams.
Why do we sometimes fall for online shopping scams and what are some common scams this holiday season?
Online scams and fraud are a billion-dollar problem. In fact, Federal Trade Commission data shows that consumers reported losing more than $5.8 billion to fraud in 2021, an increase of more than 70% over the previous year. As a college professor at SDSU, I have found that scammers have learned to tug at our students’ heartstrings and have become masters in social engineering. Social engineering is a deceptive tactic used by online scammers to build trust and then manipulate us into falling victim to their scam. Popular scams this holiday season include email phishing, IRS or government imposter scams, digital currency scams, lottery and sweepstakes scams, romance scams, bogus debt scams and many many more.
What are some common online shopping risks?
American consumers are thrifty and we have…
