It’s that time of year again! As Black Friday and the holiday season approaches, retailers & e-commerce sites are ramping up their e-mail campaigns and online specials. Unfortunately, so are the hackers. Users should remain vigilant for possible e-mail phishing attempts and fake websites

Some possible red flags may include, but are not limited to:
1.) E-mails appearing to be from vendors,banks, or service providers you have never done business with.

2.) Obvious misspellings in subject headers or email messages.

3.) E-mails appear to come from a popular website but the domain is misspelled. (Example: Sales[@]missspelledsite[.]com)

4.) Web links that just don’t look quite right.
(Example: www[.]aexamplesite[.]net[.]abadsites[.]xyz)

5.) E-mails with unexpected attachments.

6.) E-mails asking you to confirm personal account information or provide links to sites that ask you to.

7.) E-mails with unbelievable, “too good to pass up” deals with and/or without unreasonable “rushed” time limitations attached.

If you’re not sure it truly came from the vendor you’re dealing with, DON’T CLICK ON IT!

If you feel like something might be off, it probably is.

Contact the vendor directly using contact information you obtain from legitimate sources. Avoid using contact information obtained from the e-mail unless you can confirm it via a legitimate source.

Even the Bad Guys Use SSL:
Its also important to note that the hackers have upped their game, and frequently implement SSL on their fake websites. Just because a site has https:// doesn’t mean its legitimate. The https:// prefix only indicates the website is using encryption to communicate with your web browser, not that it’s a legitimate website.

No deal is worth compromising your computer security or worse, personal & financial information. Taking a couple of minutes to confirm the validity of an email or website can save you hours of headache later.

Following the above tips can help protect you from becoming the hacker’s latest holiday victim. However, it is only the start of the conversation about protecting your business in the digital world.

Lets have a conversation about your business’s cyber-security.

Sigma Data Systems is here to help. Request your free cyber-security assessment today and get SigmaSecure.

Call us at 302-274-0441 or visit https://sigmadatainc.com/cyber-security-offer/