EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

In the weeks preceding Thanksgiving and the retail holidays, researchers have seen an increase in e-commerce related phishing attacks. During the first half of November, researchers witnessed an 80% spike in phishing campaigns containing words such as “offer”, “sale” and “cheap”.

Shopping for jewelry online? Researchers recently discovered an email phishing campaign that spoofed Pandora.

The campaign didn’t connect to Pandora well at all, and the word “jewelry” was misspelled. The URL appeared to be from Amazon.com, despite no mention of Amazon in the email.

The domain itself was registered at the end of October and the beginning of November, just ahead of when hackers sent the phishing emails.

Phishing attacks like this one can leave victims scrambling to figure out what happened to their cash and/or their identities.

Amidst the commercial holidays, here are a handful of e-commerce shopping tips that can help you stay cyber secure.

1. Beware of any bargains that appear ‘too good to be true’.

2. Never share your credentials.

3. Remain on high alert regarding password reset emails.

4. Observe the language in the email. Does it include spelling errors?

5. Look for the lock. Ensure that platforms requesting payment have HTTPS instead of HTTP. A lock will usually appear to indicate this.

6. Protect against phishing attacks by implementing endpoint and email security solutions.

To learn more about staying cyber secure during the retail holidays, visit this blog.