{"id":5251,"date":"2014-12-22T10:02:27","date_gmt":"2014-12-22T15:02:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kasperskydaily.com\/uk\/?p=5251"},"modified":"2020-02-26T15:10:46","modified_gmt":"2020-02-26T15:10:46","slug":"xmas-security-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/xmas-security-tips\/5251\/","title":{"rendered":"Dangerous greeting cards and other Christmas disasters"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Have you already bought all of your Christmas and New Year gifts, booked holiday tickets and hotel rooms? There\u2019s a good chance that a good portion of those reading this will not have finished yet and still have some last minute things to buy, but it\u2019s important that you don\u2019t become a part of a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/how-to-avoid-phishing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">phishing<\/a> campaign.<\/p>\n<p>In 2014 up to <a href=\"http:\/\/www2.deloitte.com\/be\/en\/pages\/about-deloitte\/articles\/deloitte-christmas-survey-2014.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">51% of people in UK and Germany<\/a> shop online, with\u00a0even more interacting with vendors via different online channels (e-mail letters, social networks, etc.) to browse goods or get discounts. In the UK, South Africa and Germany, <a href=\"http:\/\/www2.deloitte.com\/be\/en\/pages\/about-deloitte\/articles\/deloitte-christmas-survey-2014.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">one consumer in every two uses smartphones to purchase online<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I got a great deal on cyber Monday yesterday!\u2026 I had $1300 stolen from my checking account and spent at some\u2026 <a href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/MjVFYf8pQ6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">http:\/\/t.co\/MjVFYf8pQ6<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 TJRH (@tincupscc) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tincupscc\/status\/539867762987122688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">December 2, 2014<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The problem with this is with such a huge rise in users, hackers and exploiters also rise as well: it\u2019s really easy to pay with your smartphone and its becoming easier to attack these devices as technology matures. The situation is compound by the simple fact that most people don\u2019t understand what\u2019s going on when they purchase something online. We know how quickly and easy we can buy apps and things with our devices, but we are almost illiterate in terms of mobile security. Despite this, it\u2019s not just the computer illiterate who are hacked \u2013 security experts are not immune and several have seen their accounts compromised.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">How ironic, the crime reporter has his bank account stolen. Following up on this breaking story in true first-person fashion.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Daniel J. Gross (@DanieljGross) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DanieljGross\/status\/545653199248846848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">December 18, 2014<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>With that in mind, we\u2019ve compiled this short but useful guide to keeping you safe this Christmas. \u00a0Here\u2019s a short list of things to watch out for this year. And remember:\u00a0forewarned is forearmed.<\/p>\n<p><b>Deceitful greeting cards<\/b>. We all like these colourful Christmas cards: cute, funny and even animated. The problem is, is that you don\u2019t know if it hides a trojan virus or worse behind its zany images. You can <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scambusters.org\/ecards.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">receive a letter<\/a> that looks like as if it were sent by a legitimate vendor (e.g., Hallmark).\u00a0It may ask you to download a small file to your computer in order for it to load. If it does, chances are it\u2019s not what it appears and is actually trying to install malicious code onto your PC. \u00a0<strong>Remember the golden rule: if you\u2019re not sure, delete it!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><b>Infectious online discounts<\/b>. If you receive an email containing promotional gifts such as money off or vouchers then chances are you\u2019ll take up the offer; after all, who doesn\u2019t like money off? \u00a0But again you have to remain cautious. \u00a0As in real-life, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!<\/p>\n<div class=\"pullquote\">Remember the golden rule: if you\u2019re not sure, delete it!<\/div>\n<p><b>The price of compassion<\/b> Some cyber scams come in different shapes as well. \u00a0Some will ask you to help support orphanages or the sick and needy. \u00a0If you do want to give money to charity, the better option is to visit the website yourself by using a search engine or by tapping in the url in your web browser. Much safer.<\/p>\n<p><b>A heavy-priced virtual Santa\u2019s hat<\/b> Gamers are common victims of phishing campaigns. Hackers steal banking credentials, <a href=\"https:\/\/forum.avast.com\/index.php?topic=154908.0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">game items<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=NTZ3OIRIRj0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">high-level characters<\/a> to earn quick money. They can do it in many ways, for example, send you Trojan software disguised as a screensaver of a powerful item. \u00a0<strong>If you see something like this from somebody you don\u2019t know, delete the email!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/media.kasperskydaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/86\/2014\/12\/05195757\/Keep-Calm-And-Check-Twice.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-5253\" src=\"https:\/\/media.kasperskydaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/86\/2014\/12\/05195757\/Keep-Calm-And-Check-Twice-1024x1024.png\" alt=\"Keep-Calm-And-Check-Twice\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>All of these methods do well only if a user gets excited and forget about security rules. So keep calm and be attentive!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Beware of public Wi-Fi.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/money.cnn.com\/2014\/11\/07\/technology\/security\/gmail-account-stolen\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">video taken by CNN money<\/a>\u00a0shows\u00a0how easily one can hack for example your e-mail and Amazon accounts and find out your banking credentials if you connect to a public Wi-Fi network. \u00a0If you do need to connect to a public Wi-Fi, then make sure you run your connection through a VPN \u2013 that way you\u2019ll be sure your connection is secure. \u00a0If you want to learn more about what VPN\u2019s are and how they can protect your data, check out this page <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ipaddressguide.org\/what-is\/what-is-a-vpn-connection-for-dummies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you want to send money<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you need to send money to somebody over the internet, make sure you do it via reputable sites \u2013 don\u2019t click on email links offering to do the hard work for you. Remember to type the url into the address bar yourself or use a search engine to find the correct site.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do not download any pirated content.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It can be dangerous as it\u2019s not coming from a reputable site or account. \u00a0But if you do insist on playing with fire, you can always count on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/free-trials\/multi-device-security?redef=1&amp;reseller=blog_en-global\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Kaspersky<\/a> to keep you protected! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<p><strong>Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all\u00a0of our readers!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have you already bought all of your Christmas and New Year gifts, booked holiday tickets and hotel rooms? There\u2019s a good chance that a good portion of those reading this<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":5252,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026,9],"tags":[189,82,363,76,192,97,131],"class_list":{"0":"post-5251","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-threats","8":"category-tips","9":"tag-data-security","10":"tag-hacking","11":"tag-personal-data","12":"tag-phishing","13":"tag-protection","14":"tag-security-2","15":"tag-tips"},"hreflang":[{"hreflang":"en-gb","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/xmas-security-tips\/5251\/"},{"hreflang":"en-in","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/xmas-security-tips\/4484\/"},{"hreflang":"en-ae","url":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/xmas-security-tips\/4418\/"},{"hreflang":"en-us","url":"https:\/\/usa.kaspersky.com\/blog\/xmas-security-tips\/4956\/"},{"hreflang":"ru","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.ru\/blog\/xmas-security-tips\/6507\/"},{"hreflang":"x-default","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/xmas-security-tips\/7079\/"},{"hreflang":"ru-kz","url":"https:\/\/blog.kaspersky.kz\/xmas-security-tips\/6507\/"},{"hreflang":"en-au","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/xmas-security-tips\/7079\/"},{"hreflang":"en-za","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.za\/blog\/xmas-security-tips\/7079\/"}],"acf":[],"banners":"","maintag":{"url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/tag\/data-security\/","name":"data security"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5251"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19173,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5251\/revisions\/19173"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}