The holidays are approaching! Essential precautions to avoid online fraud

In a period of unprecedented inflation, many French people will try to control their spending for the end-of-year holidays by shopping online, particularly during the famous Cyber ​​Week. A boon for cybercriminals who are taking advantage of the event to increase attacks.

According to a study carried out by Dynata for Norton, 90% of French adults surveyed plan to make purchases for the end of year holidays, including 96% online. As inflation peaks, many consumers will try to save money: 37% plan to buy second-hand or second-hand items, while a third of them will reduce their purchases of technological products and 28% will seek refurbished devices. Another impressive figure, 44% of consumers (i.e. 2 out of 5 people!) will do most of their Christmas shopping during the famous Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday.

A period ripe for numerous scams which begins well before and ends well after these two special days. No less than 22% of consumers surveyed say they were the target of a cyberattack during the end-of-year holidays of 2022. French victims lost on average more than 550 euros following online scams during their Christmas shopping !

Holidays marked by unprecedented inflation

Even though French consumers are becoming increasingly cautious and vigilant when making online purchases, 70% of them fear being victims of a sophisticated cyberattack. Consumer awareness of cyber risks is very real, but it remains to be seen whether it will be sufficient to reduce the number of victims. The survey shows that between unprecedented inflation and the increase in cyberattacks, consumers will review their priorities and modify their holiday purchasing projections: 38% of parents surveyed believe that toys, books or games company will be among the most popular gifts this year.

When it comes to tech gifts, 58% of parents want to make sure they have parental controls in place before gifting them. Another strong trend that emerges from this survey is the desire of the French to want to reduce the time spent in front of screens. No less than 38% of French people want to reduce the time they spend online to improve their quality of life and their mental health. An economic and social context that influences the online behavior of consumers. A few simple precautions can allow them to drastically reduce the risk of Internet scams.

A devastating year 2023 in terms of cyber threats

The year 2023 was marked by an unprecedented number of cyberattacks. Whether businesses, government organizations or individuals, no one is immune to risks. At the forefront of the digital offenses that most affected the French this year is the infamous phishing. This technique which consists of impersonating a trusted third party through an email, an SMS, a telephone call or a fake website to encourage users to disclose sensitive information, opening a malicious site or an infected attachment continues to wreak havoc. With generative AI, cybercriminals are creating increasingly better phishing attacks that are increasingly difficult to detect.

In recent years, the number of ransomware victims has continued to increase. Once installed on a computer system, this formidable malware encrypts the data found there to demand the payment of a ransom in exchange for the delivery of a key allowing it to be decrypted. Even if ransomware primarily targets businesses, individuals are not spared. Many other types of attacks have taken place this year, including Trojan horses which take the appearance of legitimate software to inject malware, or so-called stealth download attacks (drive by download in English) which insert themselves into security vulnerabilities on Internet sites or services and then use them to rob Internet users.

What are common online holiday scams?

During Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday, cybercriminals often use the same methods that they perfect over time. Like every year, phishing campaigns will surge, whether by email, SMS, or phone calls. Scammers usurp information, graphics, and the name of official merchants (Amazon, Cdiscount, Boulanger, etc.) to deceive consumers. They generally offer false promotions on particularly popular products.

Other attacks to be wary of as the holiday season approaches are shipping scams. Knowing that millions of French people are waiting for deliveries during this period, cybercriminals pose as known transport companies to trap them. These are generally SMS messages in which they cite a delivery problem, an order error, or even an address error. The objective is always the same: to encourage users to click on a link which leads to a fraudulent site on which the scammers then try to recover their personal data and/or banking details.

Each end of year period is unfortunately an opportunity to discover new scams. Cybercriminals do not hesitate to create fake stores from scratch to sell counterfeits or products that you never receive. From fake websites to fraudulent advertisements, including fake sellers operating on real marketplaces (Amazon, Cdiscount, La Fnac, etc.), acts of cybercrime are increasing as the holidays approach. The government site Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr, for example, recently alerted Internet users to malicious telephone messages that arrive directly to voicemail boxes.

Scammers generally pose as the after-sales or customer service department of a major brand and ask to be called back regarding a problem following a purchase, or to offer an exceptional promotion. Social networks (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc.) are also a prime target for cybercriminals. Very creative, they follow trends to broadcast false advertisements promising attractive promotions.

How to avoid online scams during Black Friday?

All year round, it is important to protect your various devices with a complete security suite such as Norton 360 Advanced. In general, it is important to be wary of overly tempting offers which are often too good to be true. Even if all means are good to make you click in a hurry (flash sale, countdown, etc.), always take the time to do a few checks: compare promotional offers, search for information on the seller, visit the official website, check the authenticity of sources (email address, telephone number, URL, etc.), consult any comments, etc. To limit the risks, you must be extra careful before providing your personal and banking information online. Finally, try to keep up to date with current fraud techniques so that you can better detect them.

Norton 360 Advanced: multi-layered protection to protect you against risks

The essential reference in antivirus security suites, Norton 360 Advanced helps protect you and your loved ones against threats plaguing online. Ultra complete, it includes advanced security tools such as anti-phishing, a password manager, and even an unlimited VPN allowing you to encrypt your online communications. Not forgetting the Dark Web Monitoring and Social Media Monitoring features on the Internet and on social networks which send you alerts if your personal data (email, telephone number, etc.) is compromised on the Dark Web. For its part, the Identity Restoration Assistance service offers support from experts on the steps to follow in the event of identity theft. Note in passing that Norton also offers a secure browser, Norton Secure Browser.