Mothers’ Day Online Shopping: Show your love, but check that link!

Kaspersky: Cybercriminals are targeting online shoppers looking for deals on Mothers’ Day gifts

Mothers’ Day brings millions of shoppers online, searching for that perfect gift and experience to make their mothers feel special and loved. At a time when people are unable to travel to be with family, or visit stores to find that perfect gift, online shopping has emerged as the best alternative. Unfortunately, this mass expression of love makes the hordes of online shoppers susceptible to scammers and phishers, who are out to prey especially on the deal-seeker and the last-minute shopper.

Kaspersky advises exercising caution when shopping online around Mothers’ Day, in light of a topical phishing attack that the cybersecurity specialists has uncovered. This particular phishing method prompts the user to choose between a selection of anonymous gift boxes, and stand the chance to win a prize, such as a gift card, simply by participating in a short survey. Since users are shopping online anyway, an attempt to win a gift card seems like a reasonable, harmless diversion, and this is where the scammers strike.

Maher Yamout, Senior Security Research at Kaspersky said, “Phishing attacks are emerging as the most successful form of online baiting, since it requires an elevated understanding of the threat to be able to spot the danger, which is dangerously low among the average online shopper. Cybercriminals often prey on emotion, and Mothers’ Day is a season of heightened emotions, especially during these days of distancing. While we do encourage everyone to delight and honour their mothers this year too, we, like your mothers, urge you to exercise caution and stay safe.”

Figure 1: Kaspersky uncovers regional phishing attempt themed around Mothers’ Day

Phishing attacks have always been quite prevalent and successful simply because they evolve and morph based on trending topics and are targeted to individual areas of interest. Cybercriminals can play mind games on their victims, luring them into a false sense of security or having them believe that they have bagged an unbelievable deal. Consumers could also be exposing themselves for attack by accessing unsecured, public Wi-Fi, logging onto a fake website, or clicking a link in an e-mail promising exclusive Mothers’ Day or other deals.

Kaspersky experts recommend following the tips below to stay safe from phishing attacks this Mothers’ Day, and everyday: 

• If you receive a link for a deal or offer via email, before clicking on the link first go to the official website to confirm that the offer is legitimate. 
• Only make purchases on official, trusted websites and pay close attention to web addresses if you are redirected to them from another website. 
• Use a security solution with behavior-based anti-phishing technologies, such as Kaspersky Security Cloud or Kaspersky Total Security, which will notify you if you are trying to visit a confirmed or suspected phishing webpage
• Never use the same password and credentials for multiple websites because if one is compromised, all your accounts are immediately vulnerable. To create strong, hack-proof passwords without the struggle of remembering them, use password managers, such as Kaspersky Password Manager.