Top 12 Most Dangerous Christmas and New Year's Online Scams to Watch Out For

The holiday season is upon us and cybercriminals are making a list and checking it twice to make sure it includes you, your family and your friends. Feel special? Well, you shouldn't. The gifts they are wrapping are sure to explode the minute you touch them, whether it is in the form of a click or landing on a booby trapped link or webpage.

As tablets and smartphones offering mobility and interconnectivity 24/7 to the Internet grow in popularity, cybercrime is at an all time high. While many shoppers are excitedly searching online for bargains that can help fill Christmas stockings, and complete lists, malicious traps are being planted every minute or second of the day to steal holiday joy. Cybercriminals invest stolen money to improve their craft, learning better ways to take advantage of PC users' ignorance or naivety towards Internet security rules and protocol.

You may be sick of hearing about the many malicious strategies being employed to steal your money, identity and computer resources, but, unfortunately, cybercrooks never tire. If they never sleep, neither should your Internet security protection. Otherwise, one slip up, i.e. lapse in Internet security coverage or oversight in patching vulnerable software, and your holiday joy could end up being a nightmare.

If you want to ensure your Christmas or New Year's isn't ruined by a viral scrooge, we suggest you take heed and avoid these 12 most dangerous online scams:

1. Social Media – So thanks to the Internet, you've become a social butterfly. Well, you need be careful of the 'net' lest you get caught in a trap, a malicious one that exploits human behavior and vulnerabilities. Cybercriminals have tainted the friendly grounds of sites like Facebook, Twitter and Skype to fool trusting members or users into clicking on poisonous links or 'liking' a booby-trapped post. Be leery of exaggerated posts offering a shortened link leading to a video or sensationalized story, as the sender not be who they say they are but rather a hacker who spoofed a compromised account of a family member or friend.
2. Mobile Apps – Smartphones and mobile apps are all the rage, which is why they are being targeted by cybercriminals and malicious developers. Reports indicate users are downloading and using in excess of 25 billions apps! Years and years of fine tuning malicious strategies for computers have paid off for cybercrooks, as they've had great success adapting their success stories to other digital platforms, especially smart phones, being pegged as the fastest growing technology on the market. A malicious app can secretly implant or download to copy your entire contact list and give a spammer much wanted ammunition to fuel his email spam campaign. In addition to email spam, another payload is that of sending or texting premium rate messages or SMS, all done without your knowledge.
3. Travel - Holiday travel creates the perfect environment for travel themed email spam. Phony or fake travel web pages and links may not fill your Christmas stockings but if you didn't properly fortify your system, it is sure to fill your email inbox. Before you jump at a too-good-to-be-true travel deal or click on a link to verify your reservations, pick up the phone and call your 'trusted' travel agent or airlines. Otherwise, you could end up on the losing end and miss out on spending vacation time with family and friends.
4. Holiday Spam/Phishing – Spam and phishing emails are the best way to steal vital data. Vital data in the wrong hands could end up costing you plenty. Therefore, be careful who you hand over your personal and financial data, i.e. credit cards information, etc., to.
5. Hot Holiday Gift Scams – Most likely, technology ranks high on gift lists. Cybercriminals are hoping these 'must haves' will propel would-be-victims to click on their phony and unbelievable deals for iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S3, Ipad, etc. If something is too good to be true, usually it is. Only buy from trusted sources and even then, verify that the web page is authenticated and secure and is not a phony replica created by online thieves, i.e. cybercrooks.
6. Skype – Skype is great for people who are immobilized or who simply cannot afford the cost or time of travel to see family and friends who live away or abroad. Cybercriminals have studied human behavior and have modeled fake messages that either trick PC users into blindly clicking on infectious links and downloading malware, or that use scare tactics to hijack data in demand of ransom for its release. Another tactic is that of random communications or messages from other Skype members, often a decoy or fake account setup to dupe you. If you didn't initiate the communication and do not know the caller, do not intercept or respond.
7. Fake Charities – The holiday season is nostalgic and often places people in a giving mood. Before you open up your heart and wallet, make sure the recipient is not a hacker hiding behind the face of a fake charity. When choosing a charity, you should always do your homework to ensure it is a viable and legitimate organization worthy of your hard earned money.
8. Bogus Gift Cards – Cybercriminals have seen a surge in gift card usage and want to get in on the action by either offering or selling 'fake' gift cards. Clicking on links to take advantage of such 'fake' offers could automatically unload malware onto your vulnerable system. On the flip side, if you buy, you may never receive the merchandise, or you might get a nasty surprise. Imagine giving your mother-in-law a bogus gift card!
9. Phony Classifieds – Viral scrooge is absent a heart and has tainted even the online classifieds. Whether looking or a job or a great online buy, be careful not to hand over valuable information to a cybercrook or hacker who will use it steal your identity or target your system for future malicious attacks. A well-known malicious tactic is that of the fake realtor or landlord who just happens to be overseas and who wants you to wire the down payment or rents. Do not be fooled! Always verify the source by phone as well as demand to view the property inside and out before committing personal data or finances.
10. Fake e-retailers – The web is full of phony end products, i.e. websites, fake online scanners, etc., all designed to execute malicious payloads. Before you buy from any online retailer, do your homework to ensure it is a legitimate business. Otherwise, you could be handing over your vital data and money to a hacker. Not only will 'no package' be sent to you but your identity will be stolen and your system polluted with malware.
11. E-Cards – E-Cards are a great way to send a quick 'thank you', announcement or Holiday Greeting to family and friends. However, websites offering these kinds of convenient and free tools can easily be laced in malware and too may yield poisonous links. Not all are tainted so just be careful when using them, and again, make sure your Internet security has your back and is ready and able to block malicious downloads or attacks.
12. Holiday themed text messages – Desperate advertisers and cybercriminals are deceptively gaining your cell phone number so they can scam you by text. A more technical classification is 'SMiSishing.' Similar to email phishing, cybercriminals craft text messages to trick PC users into entering or sending vital data that could help steal their identity and better target their systems (or intellectual properties) for future malicious attacks or strategies. Unfortunately, it is hard to learn who ratted you out (i.e. sold your personal data to the unwanted solicitor or cybercrook) or to block future text messages. The best you can do is NOT CLICK on any of its poisonous links and definitely do not enter or send personal or financial data.

Although they say 'it is better to give than receive', we suggest you gift yourself a stealth Internet security suite for all your intellectual property, i.e. desktop, laptop, smartphone, iPad, Kindle, or anything that hooks or plugs into the Internet. Additionally, you need start early on those New Year's resolutions by practicing safe online habits today that can stave off thieves who want to steal your identity and turn your computer into a bot to use the resources in a DNS strike.

We hope the above will help you avoid becoming a victim of cybercrime, so you'll be able to enjoy the holidays in peace and enter the New Year without worrying of having a hacker use your identity to perform illegal acts.