Second Yarix, a leading cybersecurity company, cybercrime and cybercrimes are on the rise online scams, both towards consumers and towards e-commerce owners.
Phishing, Fake shops is e-skimming they would be the most widespread scams and which risk holding back the growth of the online sales sector. Again according to the estimates of Yarix, in fact, this year the online scams will cause more than $48 billion in losses globally, a 20% increase over 2022. Let's see how to protect yourself.
Online scams
As expected, estimates indicate that the online scams they would increase during the holidays and, in particular, in the period from Black Friday to the end of the Christmas holidays. It is in fact the most profitable period for e-commerce, with data growing exponentially every year.
Mirko Gatto, CEO of Yarix, comments: “according to data processed by the Swedish fintech Klarna, the online sales volume of the week of Black Friday 2022 recorded an exponential growth compared to last year (+130%), with increases of +204% in the period November 21-24” .
Such a huge growth has finally attracted the attention of cyber criminals, who have identified this period as the most propitious for committing cyber crimes. But the risk exists all year round. Let's see what the three are online scams more popular".
Phishing
Phishing is one online scam which takes the form of deceptive email messages. Phishing emails appear to come from authoritative sources, such as financial institutions, banks, or sites that require you to log in by registering. The content of the email invites the victim who receives it to provide their data which, if sent, end up in the hands of cyber criminals.
The data in question can be of various kinds, from credentials and access codes to sites, to personal information, up to sensitive data such as bank details. It goes without saying that disclosure of this information can do serious harm to an individual. We defer to this article for more information on this.
Fake shops
THE fake shops they are (fake) online stores created for fraudulent purposes. This kind of online scams consists of a facsimile of famous websites or e-commerce, using domains similar to the original one, such as for example https//:amozon.it.
The unfortunate people who take the bait, thinking they have found unmissable offers, soon realize that they have paid for goods or services that will never arrive.
To unmask the scam, in addition to the incorrect URL, be wary of prices that are too affordable and check that the site in question contains the legal notices, the seller's data and contact details.
E-skimming
Another of the most popular online scams takes the name of e-skimming and consists of a method of cloning credit cards, a practice already widespread in the "real world" and which has now spread on the web.
Skimming (without e-) involved inserting a device capable of stealing credit card data and PINs inside ATMs. E-skimming works in the same way: a hacker inserts malicious code into an e-commerce site, with the aim of stealing credentials and credit card details.
In this case, it is the website manager who has to stay alert, always checking that his site is secure and does not contain viruses or external codes.
Promote a culture of safety
"(Online scams sono) a growing phenomenon that needs a new approach that promotes not only legal actions, but also a culture of safety and attention from all the actors involved around the growing e-commerce phenomenon”, continues Mirko Gatto.
Gianluca Zanini, CEO of Kleis, adds: “the culture of security also includes the continuous and constant monitoring of one's bank transactions, not only when we suspect that something is wrong. Fraudsters rely on just this kind of levity. The starting point must always be the critical sense”. Our advice is therefore to always pay attention to what you buy online and, more generally, to the data you share.
