When looking for Christmas presents, it is important that South African consumers are aware of potential scams this festive season, says Aamir Lakhani, a strategist and researcher for Global Security.
“Given the spike in digital activity predicted over the holidays, cybercriminals, too, will be making their lists and checking them twice this year. It’s a particularly risky time of the year as shoppers of all ages flock to search engines and online channels to place orders before holiday delivery date cut-offs,” said Lakhami.
Opportunistic hackers know just how to create enticing, seasonally-appropriate lures—and even some of the simplest scams can fool adept online shoppers, added Lakhani.
Global Security provided the following list of common scams:
Online holiday gift card scams
At a time when gift card purchases spike, thieves are on the lookout for easy ways to take advantage, says Lakhani.
“Gift cards are a common vector for cybercriminals and scammers since stealing the money loaded onto them is like stealing cash: Once it’s taken, there’s virtually no way for a victim to get it back.”
Some ways scammers use gift cards are:
- Fake pins: scammers scratch off the layer of protective coating to write down pin numbers and then “replacing” the coating with a sticker so it looks brand new. They then plug those PINs into software that sends an alert once someone has purchased and activated their gift card—and then proceed to drain all its…
