Cyber criminals exploit holiday season

Security company McAfee has warned that cyber criminals have begun taking advantage of the holiday season.

A McAfee statement reveals 12 of the most dangerous online scams that computer users should be cautious of this festive season.

According to Consumer Reports' 2009 State of the Net Survey, cyber criminals have swindled $8 billion from consumers in the past two years.

Jeff Green, senior vice-president of McAfee Labs, says: “Cyber criminals use their best schemes during the holidays to steal people's money, credit card information, social security number and identity. These thieves follow seasonal trends and create holiday-related Web sites, scams and other convincing e-mails that can trick even the most cautious users."

According to McAfee, during the holiday season, hackers create fake Web sites designed to look like charitable organisations, and attempt to steal credit card information from unsuspecting donors.

Another trend involves cyber criminals sending out fake invoices from Federal Express, UPS or the US Customs Service. The illicit e-mail asks the computer user for credit card details or requests them to open an online invoice.

Social networking sites tend to be hard-hit during this time, as cyber criminals send out authentic-looking friend request e-mails from sites such as Facebook. Clicking on these links automatically installs malware on computers.

During last year's holiday season, McAfee Labs discovered a worm masked as Hallmark e-cards and McDonald's and Coca-Cola holiday promotions. Holiday-themed PowerPoint e-mail attachments often have malware linked to them.

McAfee says cyber criminals are also creating Web sites offering discounted luxury gifts from brands such as Gucci and Tag Heuer, to trick users into buying products they never receive.

Forrester Research predicts online holiday sales will increase this year, as more bargain hunters turn to the Internet for Christmas shopping. Hackers are using tactics to spy on online shoppers' activity and attempting to steal their personal information.

Online criminals are rolling out fraudulent holiday Web sites for people searching for holiday ringtones, screensavers and wallpaper. Downloading the applications may infect a user's PC with malware.

Job-related scams are also on the increase following the recession. Hackers set up fake high-paying job offers; luring job-seekers to give out their personal information.

Scammers often lurk on auction sites during the holiday season, according to McAfee. In addition, cyber criminals are also using fake banking e-mails to target financial information, as well tools to uncover users' passports, by using malware that records keystrokes; known as keylogging.

Ransomware scams are also on the increase, whereby hackers hijack computer files, encrypt them, and hold the user's information as ransom by demanding payment in exchange for getting the files back.