internet investigators

As Easter Approaches, Digital Fraud Increases

Digital Fraud

As Easter quickly approaches, online scammers have began targeting their prey with holiday related ploys. Easter digital fraud scams can come in the many different forms, including fake voucher offerings, personal loans, dubious candy surveys and replica watches. Using the guise of religion, fraudsters target vulnerable digital consumers that are feeling the excitement and holiness of the season.

In recent reports, digital scammers have been cited to create fake charities to elicit donations from unsuspecting donors. These fake websites plead visitors to contribute “as much as their means might allow”, offering up methods of payment such as Paypal. In these cases, fraudsters can steal hundreds of dollars per victim and uncover private personal details which they then can then use to commit identity theft. Personal details may include banking information such as credit card numbers, security codes and expiration dates. We’ve also heard of a dubious survey for Easter candy that aims to uncover personal details of the victims using the guise of “savings right before the holidays”.

Seven Ways To Protect Yourself This Easter

Investigation Hotline would like to recommend people avoid holiday scams by:

  • Refraining from clicking on shipping notifications from email address that you’ve never interacted with. These alerts may be phishing scams that contain malware, especially in cases where the notifications ask you to download attachments.

  • Unless you recognize the sender, do not open electronic greeting cards. These commonly contain viruses and malware.

  • Whenever you’re shopping online for Easter, make sure that you’re on a secured “https” connection to avoid dubious redirects to fraudster payment gateways.

  • If you are using public Wifi that is unsecured, do not make online purchases. Instead, wait until you’re home or on a secured server that you trust. Hackers commonly attack unsecured servers to uncover important personal information.

  • Install and update trusted anti-virus and malware programs.

  • Be cautious when “liking” suspicious posts and advertisements on social media networks. Often, scammers promote their schemes by soliciting feedback and social interaction of others, pretending to represent legitimate businesses and charities.

  • Never donate money to a charity through email. Only donate to organizations that you trust through their secured websites.