Dangers
Fake online stores/sites/apps
Consumers should know that
- not all the ecommerce sites available online are genuine or authentic.
- some fraudulent sites are also made available by cybercriminals to harvest data and commit frauds.
- some times the fraudsters may also mimic some authentic online shopping websites/apps by creating fake versions and luring users to harvest data.
Adware
Adware are advertising related pop ups that appear while browsing a site, some of them are designed by fraudsters to
- divert/lure users to fraudulent sites
- launch virus attacks
- generate revenue for its owners through pay-per-click advertising and
- used for harvesting user data
Fake offers
To cheat the gullible consumers, fraudsters come up with many fake offers like
- unbelievable discounts
- free gifts
- lucky draws etc.,.
Unsecured websites collecting unencrypted data
Some online shopping sites do not encrypt the data and put users data at risk and make them vulnerable to attacks.
- They operate on outdated SSL certificates and HTTP protocols.
- When a website’s URL has HTTP instead of HTTPS it’s a red flag or warning sign
Using unsecured Wifi
Using unsecured wifi while shopping online and making online payments, can
- expose the sensitive user data
- data can be misused by fraudsters to commit frauds and have unauthorized access.
Identity Theft
Fraudsters may sometime steal user’s login or credit card details by hacking into an e-commerce site, this leads to threats like -
- this enables them to either sell personal details or impersonate users to make fake/fraudulent purchases
- this can expose user’s data and make them vulnerable to cyber attacks/frauds.
Fake reviews
While shopping online users should be aware that
- all the online reviews provided on site for products on shopping site are not genuine or true.
- Fraudsters tend to upload fake reviews, that seem too good and lack details
Phishing
Fraudsters may also try to lure the consumers/users, into providing sensitive data or launch malware attack
- by sending them spoofed mails with malicious attachments/links that seem to be originating from popular shopping sites etc.,