Fake Holiday Shopping Websites
Cybercriminals have created over 18,000 fake websites using terms like ‘Christmas,’ ‘Black Friday,’ and ‘Flash Sale’ to trick shoppers into providing personal and payment information.
Who is at risk
Online shoppers looking for holiday deals.
What to watch for
Websites with URLs that slightly misspell popular retailer names or have unusual domain endings. For example “PayPa 1 .com instead of “PayPal.com”, or “Tiffany CoShop .com” instead of the real one “Tiffany.com”. Another one identified is “ rn icrosoft.com” and not “microsoft.com”
What to do
Verify the legitimacy of a website before making a purchase by checking for secure connections (https://), reading reviews, and ensuring the URL matches the official retailer’s site.