Beware of holiday cyber scams

It's that holiday time of year again, when the spirit of giving and the spirit of taking abounds.

And when it comes to taking, watch out for those email solicitations and dummy e-commerce sites that are designed for two basic reasons: to steal your money and to steal your personal information, like credit card numbers and passwords.

The FBI warns the scam emails may look real, often containing legitimate company logos and live links. But some criminals direct users to genuine websites that trigger popups over them to capture personal information.

And as tempting as it may be, beware of those holiday e-greeting cards. When you click on a link to read a greeting card, you may be directed to a site where malicious software attacks your computer.

The FBI has some basic tips to protect yourself: Do not respond to spam, do not click on links contained within unsolicited email, be cautious with email containing attachments, don't supply personal information via email surveys, and if you are interested in purchasing a product online, contact the business that purportedly sent the email to verify if it is genuine.

For more tips on avoiding cyber scams:
- see: this NetworkWorld article