If you’re getting up early to grab a last-minute online shopping bargain this week, be warned, criminals are getting up even earlier, they know what you want, they’re ready to steal your money and ruin your holidays, and they have a nasty trick to play.
The FBI has already warned all online shoppers to avoid a raft of red flags when it comes to dangerous websites, and the U.S. cyber defense agency has now done the same. “Your best bet to avoid getting fooled,” CISA says, “is to purchase items directly from the websites of trusted vendors and stay alert by knowing what to look for. Be cautious of fake ads on social media platforms.”
CISA’s advice is broadly the same as the FBI’s, albeit their concerns skew towards password security and data harvesting. But just like the Bureau, they warn shoppers to stick to encrypted websites, reputable vendors and credit cards.
Now another nasty twist on what to stop doing has just been highlighted. As SEO manipulation and poisoning surges, The Wall Street Journal warns shoppers that the most obvious search terms could be the most dangerous. Avoid searching “for things like ‘top vacuums’ or ‘best dishwashers,’ explaining that “some firms buy Google ads to promote these ‘ratings’ sites as a quick way to steer customers to pricey off-brand products and potential rip-offs.” Unsurprisingly, “best” seems to be worst.
The websites you’ll find, WSJ warns, often have red flags such as sponsored listings, foreign ownership, lack of contact information and gushing “expert” reviews.
“A quick Google search can lead you directly to online ads that have been purchased by threat actors,” GuidePoint Security says. “These ads often look legitimate and rank toward the top of search results, so that threat actors can get ahead of legitimate services or businesses.”
For all Chrome, Safari and Edge users, with their 95% share of the U.S. browser market, these warnings are critical and need to be taken seriously. Whether you’re using obvious search terms or something more specific, keep safe all the way through the holidays by keeping in mind the FBI’s top tips:
The goal posts are constantly moving. AI is making scams harder to spot. Foreign nationals can now write more compelling, grammatically correct copy avoiding the telltale mistakes of old. Logos can be more convincingly copied. Product imagery can be easily faked. Search can be manipulated and almost 80% of marketing emails are now either scams or more dangerous malware.
But remember, the FBI warns, “if it seems too good to be true, that’s because it is.” And whatever you do, whatever you want, searching for the best will likely return you more than you expected—and not in a good way.
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Illustration: Andriy Onufriyenko (Getty Images)For most Americans, the holiday season means shopping for everything from tech to toys to travel, and just about