Cybercriminals 'look to make Christmas killing'

2009-11-24

Consumers should watch out for the '12 scams of Christmas' as cybercriminals look to exploit the holiday shopping season, it has been claimed.

According to IT security specialist McAfee, buyers' personal information, credit card details and money will be at risk when they shop online.

The group cited figures released as part of Consumer Reports' 2009 State of the Net Survey, which indicated online scams have earned $8 billion (£4.8 billion) from consumers in the past two years.

Jeff Green, senior vice president of McAfee Labs, commented: "These thieves follow seasonal trends and create holiday-related websites, scams and other convincing emails that can trick even the most cautious users."

The '12 scams of Christmas' outlined by the organisation include charity phishing attacks, fake invoices and bogus new friend requests on social networking sites.

Last week, Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos, stated that research carried out by the group found 66 per cent of companies believe their staff are putting their firm at risk of a data breach by using social networks.

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