Top 5 Christmas Online Scams of 2011 to Look Out For

Did you know Christmas is the most scammed time of the year for Internet users? Not only are those who take to the Internet to find great deals on holiday gifts at risk of scams, but anyone who uses the Internet is susceptible to being scammed at a time when cybercrooks are busier than any other time of the year.

Online scams during the Holiday season range from a simple hoax to spam email messages spreading full-on computer viruses. Malware during the holidays is not just limited to PCs or Mac computers for that matter. A new trend we must be on the lookout for this holiday season is the spread of mobile malware, which brings us to our list of Top 5 Christmas Scams to Look Out For below.

Top 5 Christmas Scams to Look Out For

Top Christmas Scam #1: Mobile Malware Scams & Malicious Mobile Apps

Mobile or smartphone malware is a new emerging threat mostly among devices running the Android operating system. Many of the mobile scams specifically target Android smartphones with malicious apps. This holiday season, if you are a user of an Android-powered smartphone, you should avoid visiting suspicious links or downloading apps from questionable sources. A number of mobile apps have been created by cybercrooks who may promote their app as a holiday scheme. Some of these malicious mobile apps pretend to offer some type of holiday shopping deals, but in reality, they are designed to pilfer your personal information.

Top Christmas Scam #2: Fake Facebook Contests and Holiday Promotions

Facebook, with over 700 million users worldwide, has become a major launching ground for cybercriminals and their scams. During the holidays cybercriminals take Facebook to promote fake contests and even offer bogus holiday deals. Many of these posts look legitimate until then are clicked on. If something seems too good to be true on a promoted Facebook link, usually it is. Do not be fooled by these fake offers.

Top Christmas Scam #3: Scareware

Cybercrooks commonly use scareware, or scam software, that attempts to promote unethical marketing practices, to trick computer users into performing a malicious action. During the holidays, scareware is in abundance sometimes found on legitimate websites or web pages promoting holiday deals. Usually scareware is downloaded without any pretense to what the download consists of other than being some type of 'helpful' application on the surface. Computer users should always utilize an up-to-date security program to safely detect and remove scareware.

Top Christmas Scam #4: Holiday Phishing Scams

Probably one of the most popular ways for cybercriminals to steal personal information from a computer user is through a phishing site. During the holidays leading up to Christmas, phishing scams are in full throttle. Have you ever received a Christmas card through email that contained a link to a site that claimed to display your 'card'? Many of the holiday-themed phishing scams come as a message that requires the user to open an attachment or link to view it. Many times the attachment or link leads users to a site that appears to be legitimate at first glance, but is in fact a phishing site designed to acquire personal data.

Top Christmas Scam #5: Online Shopping Scams

By far the most effective method for scamming computer users during the holiday season is through online shopping scams. These scams may range from websites selling products to full-on online stores that are actually phony but allow users to process payments for items they will never receive. Your credit card information is gold to cybercriminals and it is solely up to you to use proper judgment in selecting a trusted site to make gift purchases. The best thing you can do is verify the URL address, ensure your web browser is updated and verify that the shopping site uses encryption when entering payment information.

What do you practice for safe online shopping during the holidays? Do you do most or all of your holiday shopping online?