{"id":8469,"date":"2019-12-13T08:27:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-13T13:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cscdigitalbrand.services\/blog\/?p=8469"},"modified":"2022-07-20T10:46:23","modified_gmt":"2022-07-20T14:46:23","slug":"holiday-season-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cscdbs.com\/blog\/holiday-season-scams\/","title":{"rendered":"Holiday Season Scams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The holiday season brings with it an inevitable increase in\nonline fraud. Fraudsters go where the money is, and with so much being spent\nover Thanksgiving and Christmas, there\u2019s even more for scammers to tap into. Here,\nwe outline the key scams to look out for during the holiday season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Email fraud<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As the number of communications with special seasonal offers\nincreases, it\u2019s easy for fraudulent emails to get through. They usually purport\nto be from legitimate brands, courier companies, marketplaces, or online\npayment services. Phishing emails replicate the branding of legitimate\ncompanies and contain links to replica websites that aim to glean personal info\nand money from unsuspecting consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within companies, increased numbers of temporary staff and a\nhigher number of incoming packages opens up invoicing scams or other ways to\nextract information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To make an email seem legit, fraudsters register domains\ncontaining the brand name or mimicking the legitimate sender domain. Safe\ngateway solutions and monitoring for typosquatters can solve this issue. Cyber\ncriminals can also use the actual company sender domain, and tools like DMARC\ncan manage that threat, as well as phishing awareness training for all\nemployees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fake websites<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Linked with email fraud are fake websites, which use official\nbranding or clones of legitimate sites. In 2018, more than \u00a310 million (SEK 125\nmillion) was lost to fraudsters through online Christmas shopping. Fake sites\noffer hefty discounts on otherwise expensive goods, which either turn out to be\nfakes, or don\u2019t arrive at all. Domains including the brand or special seasonal\nalternatives are used to appear legitimate (e.g., companyXchristmasshop.com).\nMonitoring solutions help identify bad domains or site content, and enforcement\nsolutions help remove harmful sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paid search and social media <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Holiday fraudsters use paid search ads to take advantage of the\nmillions of people searching online to find the perfect gift. Buying brand name\nkeywords means they can position ads for fake sites at the top of search\nresults, encouraging consumers to click the malicious site and input personal\nand financial information. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digital grinches also target social media, with ads peddling\ncheap goods or discount vouchers, sending consumers to fake websites. For\nhigher credibility, they often don\u2019t use a direct post, but hide in closed\ngroups or comment sections making them harder to detect. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further still, account hijacking or cloning gives fraudsters\naccess to someone\u2019s personal social media account, where they can send direct\nmessages to their contacts asking for financial support or directing to fake\nwebsites. Always try to verify requests by contacting the person via other channels\nbefore considering anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Latest TLD launches<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

.TH<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The .TH TLD has been launched, with a limited availability period\u2014with a deadline of 31 December 2019. (NB CSC needs to receive final orders by 27 December.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The domain name must be an English name of an organization,\ntrademark, or natural person only. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Requirements are extensive, and based around:<\/p>\n\n\n\n