Cyber Monday 2021: Cut the risk of getting scammed by following these tips

Cyber Monday 2021 is going on in full swing in the United States and the National Retail Federation said that it is expected to be break records and surpass last year’s sales of over $10.8 billion. With millions of people shopping and getting their hands on various deals, hackers, too, will be in hot pursuit to steal personal information.

“These people practice the psychology of manipulating people that come to their websites to buy things because that’s how they make money,” news4jax quoted Chris Hamer, a cybersecurity expert, as saying.

Hamer suggested that one should keep the guard up while shopping.

“There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch. So, if it’s too good of a deal to be true, it’s not true,” Hamer added.

In 2020, the FTC got more than 2.2 million reports about fraud and people lost nearly $3.3 billion. The top fraud was imposter scams.

“A lot of them will use typosquatting where they will have a website or domain that looks similar to but it could be a minor difference,” Hamer added.

According to him, here are some steps to protect your information:

-Verify the website is legit.

-Don’t use the public internet.

-Use credit cards instead of debit cards.

-Check your statements often during the holiday season.

FBI Omaha, too, in a press release, reminded customers that criminals are also getting ready to scam the vulnerable.

In a press note, the FBI laid down the red flags one should keep an eye out for to keep the scammers at bay.

-Secure your banking and credit accounts with strong and different passwords and secure all other accounts that contain anything of value.

-Steer clear of untrustworthy sites that end in .club or .top and offer items at unrealistic discounts or with special coupons.

-Look for https in the URL before entering your credit card information.

-Always get a tracking number for items purchased.

-Don’t open any unsolicited emails or click on any links if you do open the email.

-Avoid filling out forms in unsolicited emails that ask for personal information.

-Say no to robocalls, hang up on automated messages. Consumers who believe they are a victim of a scam should call their bank, report the crime to law enforcement, and file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.