With 12.12 fast approaching and Singaporeans getting their wallets ready for another round of sales, it’s important to remember that sometimes deals are just too good to be true. In fact, 36% of Singaporeans have been misled by fake online sites, of which 36% were taken to a sketchy site, while 28% lost money and 12% experienced identity fraud.
While we all love a fantastic bargain, Singaporeans should be cautious, lest they get more than they bargained for.
That’s not all, as Singaporeans wait excitedly for their spoils from Singles’ Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday to arrive, cybercriminals are out to capitalise. Masquerading as couriers, scammers are reaching out to consumers and asking them for private information.
Shipping scams were found to have duped 36% of Singaporeans in a recent McAfee survey. Furthermore, of those who fell victim to the shipping scams, 44% were asked to give personal information over the phone, while 21% clicked on suspicious links in emails they received from such “couriers” and were taken to sketchy sites.
McAfee has a few products that Singaporeans can use to stay safe:
· Comprehensive security protection, like McAfee Total Protection, can help protect devices against malware, phishing attacks and other threats. It includes McAfee WebAdvisor, which can help identify malicious websites.
· A solution like McAfee Identity Theft Protection takes a proactive approach to help protect identities with personal and financial monitoring and recovery tools to help keep identities personal and secure
Additionally, here are some tips to stay safe this holiday season:
· Never reuse passwords. With just one hack, cybercriminals can get their hands on thousands of passwords, which they can then use to try to access multiple accounts.
· Stop and pause. Instead of clicking on a link in an email, it is always best to check directly with the source to verify an offer or shipment.