SL;DR: Cyber Monday is a goldmine for cybercriminals because of the surge in online shopping and shared financial data. While Black Friday focuses on in-store deals, Cyber Monday is all about online discounts, especially tech and small gifts, making shoppers even more vulnerable. Attackers use phishing via email, SMS, and social media to mimic sales alerts and delivery updates. Looking to stay safe online, try our Fraudster app www.cyologylabs.com/fraudster
Cyber Monday has emerged as one of the most lucrative times of the year for cybercriminals. Given the massive volume of transactions and shared financial data, is it a wonder? Cybercriminals increasingly exploit the holiday period to conduct malicious campaigns, spear-phishing, and malware delivery. It shouldn’t be surprising that Black Friday and Cyber Monday have emerged as one of the most lucrative times of the year for cybercriminals.
The main distinction between them is that while this day is an e-commerce event specifically created for online shopping, Black Friday is a brick-and-mortar store that belongs to the retail shopping sector. A good rule of thumb is that Black Friday is a better time to buy newer, higher-priced items and go shopping. Cyber Monday typically offers special online promotions and discounts on tech and small gifts; you’ll also find slightly lower online prices.
Spotting mobile phishing attacks
Social media and SMS obnoxiously inform consumers of new sales and delivery information. Cyber Monday-based phishing efforts mimic those communications.
- Never click a link: Contact the sender and confirm the message before interacting with the link. Read the complete URL in the browser before clicking any of these links.
- Use a secure Wi-Fi network when shopping online. While shopping at coffee shops is convenient, your connection might be hijacked. If possible, go home to shop. If you must shop on the go, use a VPN. Use a secure device. Malware and keyloggers can steal your information from infected computers, phones, or tablets. Ensure your antivirus software is running and your operating system and browser are up-to-date
- Shop only on secure websites. Before you enter any payment or personal information, look at the website address at the top of your browser. Make sure the address begins with “https:” (the extra “s” stands for secure). Look for a small padlock icon in the address bar; that means the site is using encryption. If you don’t see “https” or the padlock, don’t type your card number, password, or other private details. When in doubt, close the site and find the same item on a trusted retailer’s page
- Shop from unique credentials: If you shop from the same website often, having an account is helpful. Sometimes, the retailer will require or create it when you make your first purchase. One mistake is to use the same password for each of their retailer accounts, thus making it easy for the person to remember. However, you don’t know what the data protections are for each of those retail websites, and you don’t want a single breach on one retailer site to grant a thief access to all of your accounts, so make each password unique.
- Pay securely: No one wants one minor purchase to lead to a balance-emptying series of fraudulent charges suddenly. Use a secure credit card rather than a bank debit card for online purchases. Alternatively, ask your financial institution for a travel card or prepaid debit card that you can use for your online shopping. This would allow you to load up just what you want to spend this season (keeping you in budget!), and if there are any issues with retailers, they don’t have access to your regular debit card account.
Collaborate
Proper cybersecurity in every business is in its resilience. With tested systems and patient care continuing uninterrupted, security becomes meaningful at that point. Cyology Labs and our Cybersecurity Reality Check Challenge build on this principle, simulating real-world attacks to reveal how your defences perform under attack. The result is evidence that your organization can protect what matters most: patient safety. Contact us today to schedule a no-obligation consultation.
