We’ve all seen the “click to enter” prize draws and the “like and share” to be in with a chance of winning promotions online, everyone likes to think they could have a shot at winning something. The problem with these competitions is that scammers often use promotions and draws as a guise for collecting both financial and personal details. We often see a marked increase in these types of scams around Christmas as people are attracted to the idea of winning a big prize or voucher for a well know high street store. Check out the fifth day of Christmas cyber security tips.
These scams are often carried out by asking the victim to click on a link or complete a survey to be entered into a prize draw. The link will often take you to a site that looks entirely professional and above board. It’s at this stage that you’ll be prompted to enter your details which may include your phone number, date of birth, address, or credit card details. You may receive an invalid, look-alike voucher or you may receive nothing at all.
Cybercriminals put a lot of time and effort into these types of scams, they copy logos and branding from well know retailers in an attempt to make their con seem as legitimate as possible, after all, the more authentic it looks the more people they will trick.
It’s not just your financial details that attract the attention of these fraudsters. Any of your personal information can be used to sell on to criminal third parties or commit identity fraud.
To protect yourself against these online scammers, there are a number of tips you should follow; always be wary of any emails you receive out of the blue offering you the chance to win big prizes. If you want to check if the offer is legitimate or not you should go directly to the official company website to see if they are running any promotions. Never click on links or download attachments from unknown sources, hover your mouse over the URL to check its validity and look out for any spelling or grammatical errors.
