Black Friday & Cyber Monday Top 10 Cybersecurity Tips

Black Friday & Cyber Monday Top 10 Cybersecurity Tips

The bad guys are at it again with holiday phishing scams, and this time from the comfort of your user’s home. Because we are in the middle of a pandemic, retailers have already started online Black Friday deals that attract scammers. Cyber Monday will also be bigger than ever before. That means you and your users need to be extra cautious when shopping online over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend.

According to TechCrunch, estimates of eCommerce growth rates by 18% will continue to increase during the holiday season. The growth in e-commerce will result in an increase of online scams. Since the beginning of November, Checkpoint research showed the first half of November already showed an 80% increase in phishing campaigns relating to sales & shopping special offers.

I suggest you send this reminder to your users, friends and family. Feel free to edit, copy/paste:

“It’s Holiday Season for the bad guys too! But not the way you might think. They go into scam-overdrive mode. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the busiest online shopping days and the bad guys are planning to get rich with your money. So, here are this year’s Top 10 Holiday Cybersecurity Alert Tips:

1. Keep all devices up to date with basic security measures to lessen your chance of becoming the victim.
2. Only connect to known Wi-Fi networks; beware of network names that have typos or extra characters.
3. Use strong, unique passwords on all accounts. This is a good time to update passwords!
4. Be safe on all social media; don’t overshare and take the time to review your privacy settings on the platforms you use.
5. Keep an eye on your bank accounts and monitor your credit report regularly.
6. Be careful with messages regarding shipping changes. Always use official channels to stay updated.
7. Watch out for holiday greeting cards that may not be the sender you think! Don’t open these unless you’re certain you can trust who they came from.
8. Keep devices in view (or know where they are) throughout the course of all holiday travel.
9. Pay close attention to the websites you visit and shop on. It’s safest to only use those you trust.
10. Be wary of ads, giveaways, and contests that seem too good to be true. These run rampant during the holiday season!