Consumers cautioned to be cautious when paying online this Christmas

Consumers are cautioned to be cautious when visiting online before Christmas.

“Outside of Black Friday, cybercriminals have had nine months to perfect [scams]”Said Dean Williams, NortonLifeLock New Zealand Systems Engineer.

Williams noted that online scams and threats increased throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, and he expects more to occur before Christmas.

Figures from CERT NZ’s third quarter report found that cybersecurity incidents are at an all-time high. Between July 1 and September 30, 2,610 reports were made to the government agency, resulting in a total loss of $ 6.4 million. That’s a 255 percent increase in losses from the prior quarter.

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“These incidents serve as a wake-up call for Kiwis to strengthen their safety online,” CERT NZ Director Rob Pope said in a statement.

Email scams are the most commonly reported incidents. CERT NZ reported a 101 percent increase in compromised business emails compared to the second quarter, resulting in nearly $ 1 million in losses.

“Email is widely used and trusted both in business and in our personal lives. Unfortunately, this makes it an easy target for cyber attackers looking to make a quick buck, ”Pope said.

Malware attacks, bogus websites and text-based phishing scams are also circulating, Williams said. He encouraged people to stay tuned when searching for some of the most sought after items of the year, like the Play Station 5 and Xbox One X.

“Depending on the trigger point or seasonal moment, that’s what [cyber criminals] leverage. So whether it’s Black Friday, whether it’s the new unreachable Xbox … it’s the same technique. All they are doing is putting the desired products in front of us.

“If New Zealand’s major retailers or resellers don’t have access to [certain products]So how is this obscure and unknown provider going to gain access? It should be the warning bells. “

A 2001 survey of people 18 and older, conducted by Finder, found that credit cards and buy-now-pay-later services will be used to cover Christmas expenses, yet most people will dive into existing savings.

Of the 2,610 cybersecurity incidents reported to CERT NZ, phishing and credential harvesting, malware, scams and fraud, and unauthorized access were the four most common reports.

Williams predicts New Zealanders will be inundated with online scams over Christmas, and those who only started shopping online during the Covid-19 pandemic may be among the most vulnerable.

“For many of us, we already know how to shop online … but now [more people have] I had to learn … to navigate a lot of the other essentials and splurge on articles online. “

To stay safe, Williams encouraged shoppers to stick with the stores and brands they know, in addition to using online security solutions. However, this advice is not specific to Christmas and should be followed throughout the year.

“[It aligns] with common sense. Stick to the brands you are familiar with, stick to the online resellers you already have a relationship with and an account with, supplement that with a comprehensive security solution. “

He also recommended that shoppers take note of the reliability of a store’s checkout, checkout or transaction process by looking for the lock next to the URL or the Secure Sockets Layer (SST) certification at the beginning of the URL (https).

The wi-fi network you connect to when you shop online is also important. Williams said that unknown public networks increase the risk of users falling victim to online scams, as personal information is shared without protection.