Stay safe

1. Borough of West Chester
Information Technology Training
Session 4, Holiday Bonus Edition
Holiday
Internet
Scams To
Avoid!
December 6, 2011
William Mann, Chief Information Officer

2. Many of us are already shopping
online, or will be soon, for the holidays.
"Cyber-criminals rub their hands with
glee when they think of the holidays”.
Shopping Online, Opening E-Cards and
responding to unsolicited emails offering
“special deals” can be very dangerous.

3. You need to stay one step ahead of this
season's cyber-scrooges, and make sure
you have protection for all of your internet-
enabled devices.
If you do not, you risk giving the bad guys
the biggest gift of all – your
personal and financial
information."

4. Mobile Malware
More of us are using our phones for shopping, to
research products or to redeem coupons. Today
Android phones are "most at risk," citing "a 76
percent increase in malware targeted at Android
devices in the second quarter of 2011 making it
the most targeted smartphone platform."

5. Mobile Malware
A new type of malware has recently been
found that targets QR (quick response)
codes. QR codes are the digital barcodes
that consumers scan with their smartphone to
find good deals, or just to learn about
products they want to buy.

6. Malicious Mobile Apps
These are mobile apps designed to steal
information from smartphones, or send out expensive
text messages without a user’s consent.
These dangerous apps are usually offered for free, and
masquerade as fun applications, such as games.

7. Malicious Mobile Apps
For example, last year, 4.6 million Android smart-
phone users downloaded a suspicious wallpaper
app that collected and transmitted user data to a
site in China.

8. Phony Facebook Promotions
Who doesn’t want to win some free prizes or get a
great deal around the Holidays?" One recent
popular scam promised two free airline tickets.
This “scam” required participants to fill out multiple
surveys requesting personal information.
Never Ever do this!

9. Scareware: Fake Antivirus / Security Update
"Scareware is the fake antivirus software that tricks
someone into believing that their computer is at risk or
already infected so that they agree to download and
pay for phony software.”

10. Scareware: Fake Antivirus / Security Update
These fake security programs are one of the most
common and dangerous Internet threats today, with
an estimated 1 million victims falling for
this scam each day."

11. Holiday Screensavers
Many of us love our screensavers for special times of
the years like Christmas. But some of the free ones
are loaded with more than holiday cheer. For
example a recent search for a Santa screensaver
that promises to let you 'fly with Santa in 3D' is
malicious.

12. Holiday Phishing Scams
Cyber scammers know that most people are busy
around the holidays so they tailor their emails and
social messages with holiday themes in the hopes of
tricking recipients into revealing personal information.

13. Holiday Phishing Scams
A common holiday phishing scam is a
phony notice from UPS, saying you have a
package and need to fill out an attached form to get it
delivered. This particular one made the rounds
through our email last season.
The form may ask for personal or financial
details that will go straight into the
hands of the cyber scammer.

14. Online Coupon Scams
Whether you're an extreme couponer or an
occasional one, the holiday season is rife with good
online offers as well as malicious ones.
Scammers know that by offering an irresistible
online coupon, they can get people to hand over
some of their personal information..

15. Online Coupon Scams
One popular scam is to lure consumers with
the hope of winning a 'free' iPad. Consumers
click on a 'phishing' site, which can result in an
email spam.
Another is that consumers are offered an
online coupon code and once they agree, are
asked to provide personal
information, including credit-card
details, passwords and other financial data.

16. Hotel Wrong Transaction
In one recent example, a scammer sent out emails
that appeared to be from a hotel, claiming that a
'wrong transaction' had been discovered on the
recipient’s credit card. It then asked them to fill out
an attached refund form.
Once opened, the attachment downloads
malware onto their machine.

17. “It” Gift Scams
"When a gift is hot, not only do sellers mark up
the price, but scammers will also start
advertising these gifts on rogue websites &
social networks, even if they don’t have them.
Consumers could wind up paying for an item
and giving away credit card details only to
receive nothing in return."

18. Protecting Yourself
Now that I scared everyone who are some tips for
protecting yourself online!
 Only download mobile apps from official app
stores, such as iTunes and the Android
Market, and read user reviews
before
downloading them.

19. Protecting Yourself
 Be extra vigilant when reviewing and responding to emails.
 Watch out for too-good-to-be-true offers on social networks.
Never agree to reveal your information just to participate in
a promotion.
 Don’t accept requests on social networks from people you
don’t know in real life. Wait to post pictures
and comments about your vacation
until you’ve already returned home.

20. Protecting Yourself
 If you are asked to copy and paste some code
into your web browser to get a prize or special
offer, do NOT do it. The code is usually a
javascript which WILL create all kinds of havoc
for you.
 Have a current anti-virus program that
you keep up to date.

21. Protecting Yourself
 Run an anti-malware program on a regular basis.
 Download programs, especially anti-virus and anti-
malware, from reputable websites not websites or
warning messages that pop up on your screen.

22. What is a Computer Virus?
The term computer virus is often used interchangeably with malware, though the
two don't actually have the same meaning. In the strictest sense, a virus is a
program that copies itself and infects a PC, spreading from one file to
another, and then from one PC to another when the files are copied or shared.
Here are some recommended safe, free and effective
anti-virus programs.
Short Description
A virus is a • Microsoft Security Essentials
program that • AVG Anti-Virus 2012*
copies itself and
• Avira Free Antivirus*
infects a
PC, spreading to
other PC’s.
* Both of these applications also have paid versions.

23. What is Malware?
The word Malware is short for malicious software, and is a general term
used to describe all of the viruses, worms, spyware, and pretty much
anything that is specifically designed to cause harm to your PC or steal
your information.
Here are some recommended safe, free and effective
malware programs.
Short Description
• Spybot
Malware is any • Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
program that is
designed to steal
personal
information.