The holidays are here, and as people all over the world prepare to celebrate with their families, cyber criminals are putting in overtime. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday approaching, threat actors are poised to take advantage of consumers hoping to shop the yearly discounts. The scams have already started: Check Point Research has already identified a major increase in malicious websites related to the start of the shopping season. Threats against retailers are already up year over year, indicating that we might be in for a particularly risky holiday window. There are a few simple ways to shop securely and make sure your hard-earned money is going toward gifts for friends and family instead of cyber criminals.
The Holiday Threat Landscape
The holidays are an exciting time for threat actors, too. The bonanza of deal-seeking and volume of transactions creates an ideal environment for scammers hoping to fly under the radar. In the weeks leading up to Black Friday, Check Point Research recorded a surge in websites related to Black Friday, an increase 89% higher than the surge in the same period last year. Nearly all of these sites impersonate well-known brands, and almost none are classified “safe.” These shadow sites, enticing consumers with deals that might seem out of place were it not Black Friday, are intended to trick a consumer into entering sensitive details, like payment info or a set of credentials, into the fraudulent site. Effectively, they serve as phishing sites, passively harvesting user credentials from dealseekers. The variety of impersonated sites ranges widely, from global behemoths to smaller, but still prominent, boutiques. Notably, a huge variety of these fake sites share key design features, indicating that a central group might be behind a network of retail phishing platforms.
Phishing itself has gotten far more targeted over the last year. Aided by AI tools including generative AI platforms, threat actors can deliver convincing phishing emails directly to consumer inboxes. They might promise discounts or offer exclusive access to items or something similar. Recently, we’ve seen the rise of QR code phishing in these emails, designed to bypass traditional email filters. All it takes is a careless click from there. Once they’ve harvested user data, they can leverage it for more damaging attacks, including ransomware.
The Retail Ransomware Threat
Consumers in the United States need to be particularly careful. The US is already the most-targeted region for ransomware incidents, and incidents are up 24% compared to last year. Retailers in the US account for 45% of global retail ransomware attacks, despite comprising less than 30% of the global retail market. These attacks are a major risk for businesses in the holiday season: they can freeze operations for extended periods of time, not to mention huge potential fines and payouts from customer lawsuits spawned by data leaks.
Downstream from consumer data is an entire illicit economy that cyber criminals are hoping to exploit during the holidays. From personal credit cards, credentials, and identity info, threat actors can drive a variety of scams to drain personal accounts, demolish credit, and freeze and extort businesses. Because they’re such a target, individuals should take some key actions to protect themselves against the daunting holiday threat landscape.
Protecting Yourself During the Holidays
For consumers, online protection is as much about being careful as it is about keeping apps updated and patched. Check URLs closely for misspellings or unusual host domains. Make sure the url starts with “https:// and shows a padlock icon, certifying a secure connection. When emails come in, reference the sender against emails you know to be real. Don’t click anything you’re not sure about and don’t blindly click through on QR codes. Never input unnecessary details like your social security number, and avoid inputting extra info like your birthday where it’s not required. Businesses must play their part by staying vigilant against impersonators, keeping their customers informed and aware, and by securing their own networks as much as possible.
Cyber criminals rely on carelessness as much as on technical vulnerabilities – perhaps even more. We see breaches from stolen user credentials more often than anything else. By paying careful attention to a few simple security steps online, consumers everywhere can keep the door shut on cyber criminals, and enjoy the holidays with friends and family instead of fraudsters.