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Be Wary of Online
Shopping Scams |
(CBC) - Holiday shoppers searching online should
keep an eye on suspicious e-mails and websites to
avoid spammers and hackers who would rather receive
than give, security experts warn.
According to Deloitte's Security & Privacy Services
Group, the holiday season is one of the busiest
times of the year for internet scam artists trying
to lure shoppers to disclose passwords, credit card
and bank numbers, or other personal identification.
Canadians spent $7.9 billion in goods and services
online in 2005, with three quarters of the online
shoppers using the internet to pay for the products,
according to a Statistics Canada study released in
October.
Despite the growth of online shopping, four out of
five Canadians said they still had concerns about
paying for goods over the internet.
Deloitte's security and privacy professionals offer
a few tips to avoid sending gifts to people not on
your shopping list:
Make sure the firewall, anti-virus and anti-spyware
software on your computer is up to date and that
your web browser has all the latest security
upgrades.
When using a wireless network, make sure the
wireless access point has security and controls
built in like Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) or
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA). These controls,
identified by a yellow lock icon next to the
network's name, help to ensure your sensitive data
is protected.
Never click on website links that have been sent to
you via e-mail. Scam artists use this technique,
known as phishing, to lure customers to bogus,
look-alike sites to collect personal information for
use in identity theft and credit card fraud. Never
respond to e-mails from shopping or financial
websites claiming your login credentials need
updating or an account needs payment.
Avoid clicking on links in pop-up ads as well.
Some of these are traps allowing hackers to install
harmful files on your computer.
Make sure the site you are using for online shopping
is secure. A lock icon on the browser's status
bar or a URL for a website that begins https (the
"s" stands for secure) are indicators the site might
be safe, though no indicator is foolproof.
Don't use internet kiosks and internet cafes to pay
bills or shop online. The computers may contain
malicious code such as keystroke loggers to record
your user name and password, allowing someone to
access other personal information.
Avoid using the "Remember password and username"
option. A tool of convenience for many users, it
also allows others with access to your computer to
gain access to your account and personal
information. Always log out when finished with a
password-required site.
And
as with shopping in person, online shoppers should
also pay attention to their credit card statements
to make sure all of the charges on the bill match
expenditures.
Source:
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)
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