Friday is Black Friday, the kick off of the big holiday shopping fury. If you are going to the neighborhood mall, you probably already have some self-selected rules to keep you, your purchases and your wallet safe. See if these sound familiar:
Park in a well-lit area of the mall parking lot
Don’t store purchases or packages in your car
Lock the car and set the alarm before walking away
When you return to the car, walk around to see if anyone has tried to break in
Make note of your parking location (don’t lose the car.)
Try to enter/exit the mall from the same doorway
Keep your wallet zipped in your purse or pocket to prevent pickpockets
After a purchase, make sure your credit card/ID is put away
Make a note of how many bags you have, so you can make sure you’ve still got them
If you need to stop for a snack, keep your purchases in physical contact
Etc.
When it comes to online shopping, we at Norton are already seeing an increase in the kind of spam likely to appeal to the holiday shopper. Replica watches, gift cards, and faked product are appearing in emails with these subject lines:
- Subject: Grab em before Christmas
- Subject: Just in time for Christmas - cheap watches
- Subject: Hi xxxx, get 70% off Christmas
There’s usually a mention of limited supplies or that you need to “hurry” for the best deal. Watch out for these tricks, designed to get you to click on a link to a site you’ve never seen before or to be so focused on price you forget your basics of online safety.
According to the 2010 Norton Cybercrime Report, 73 percent of Americans have already been a victim of cybercrime. However, by taking simple precautions, consumers can ensure their holidays are free of spam, viruses and online scams.
I, for one, find holiday shopping at the mall to be very stressful. To retain my sanity and the joy of the holiday season, I do the bulk of my shopping online. So here are my tips to keep you and your family jolly into the New Year.
TIPS:
- If you receive a suspicious email – whether it’s offering discounts that are too good to be true or is filled with grammatical errors – delete the message. It could be spam that’s trying to trick you into downloading a virus or giving away your personal information
- Use visual cues to identify safe websites - Scan the entire web page for a trust mark, such as the VeriSign Trusted Seal. These marks demonstrate that trusted authorities have taken comprehensive measures to certify such things as security, online business ethics or customer privacy standards.
- Don’t let viruses turn your Black Friday into the “blues” - Use trusted online security software, like Norton Internet Security 2011, to make sure your system is protected against online threats. Norton Safe Web Lite, a free online tool, can also help identify risky websites as you shop.
Keep abreast of the latest in security issues by following me on Twitter, @marianmerritt. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!