Holiday Season Phishing Scams and Malware Campaigns

As the winter holidays approach, PCGOODGUYS reminds users to stay aware of seasonal scams and cyber campaigns, which may include:

• electronic greeting cards that may contain malware
• requests for charitable contributions that may be phishing scams and may originate from illegitimate sources claiming to be charities
• screensavers or other forms of media that may contain malware
• credit card applications that may be phishing scams or identity theft attempts
• online shopping advertisements that may be phishing scams or identity theft attempts from bogus retailers
• shipping notifications that may be phishing scams or may contain malware

PCGOODGUYS encourages users and administrators to use caution when encountering these types of email messages and take the following preventative measures to protect themselves from phishing scams and malware campaigns:

• Refer to the Shopping Safely Online Cyber Security Tip for more information on online shopping safety.
• Do not follow unsolicited web links in email messages.
• Use caution when opening email attachments. Refer to the Using Caution with Email Attachments Cyber Security Tip for more information on safely handling email attachments.
• Maintain up-to-date antivirus software.
• Review the Federal Trade Commission’s Charity Checklist.
• Verify charity authenticity through a trusted contact number. Trusted contact information can be found on the Better Business Bureau’s National Charity Report Index.
• Refer to the Recognizing and Avoiding Email Scams (pdf) document for more information on avoiding email scams.
• Refer to the Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks Cyber Security Tip for more information on social engineering attacks.

Refer to the Holiday Traveling with Personal Internet-Enabled Devices Cyber Security Tip for more information on protecting personal mobile devices while traveling over the holidays.