Local Expert Offers Tips To Avoid Scammers on Cyber Monday

(KNSI) – With another virtual spending bonanza underway for Cyber Monday, NetVPro Vice President of Business Development Keith Swingle says some of the best steps to keep your information safe are the most basic. He says they are so fundamental it amounts to the cybersecurity equivalent of blocking and tackling.

“Pay attention to your accounts. Log in every once in a while and make sure that the charges that are there are the right charges. The other thing is mind your passwords. After you’re done with the shopping season, you want to just go through and change the passwords for those cards used online. Being mindful of those simple things.”

Swingle also recommends tying your online payments to your phone rather than entering your credit card information into the website you are trying to purchase from. He says it gives you an extra level of control as most people always keep their phone close to them. By comparison, a card number can be stolen by someone on the other side of the globe.

Scammers keep getting more inventive in trying to pass themselves off as legitimate retailers online. Swingle says the cybersecurity industry is doing all it can to keep up.

“They have become much more skillful at copying things like logos and making sure they have the same font. And we actually have products out there now that use artificial intelligence to say, ‘Is this the actual correct color of the logo?’ They’ll look into the color numbers to see if it’s the right color logo because the bad guys have gotten so sophisticated in their approach.”

From phishing schemes to ransomware, Swingle says your best defense is common sense. No matter how legitimate something looks, he recommends stopping and asking yourself one question before chasing after a potential deal online. Does it seem too good to be true? If the answer is yes, it probably is.

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