SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State officials are offering tips to protect yourself and your money as you consider doing more cyber-shopping this year.
Adam Ford from the state’s Department of Innovation and Technology says cyber thieves often ramp up their efforts this time of year; so think before you click, be careful about how much information you give out, and be wary of text messages and emails looking to be from well-known retailers offering seemingly ridiculous deals.
“Criminals have done a lot of work to make that look very realistic. In those cases, just don’t click on the links in those e-mails,” said Ford, “DO-IT’s” Chief Cyber Security Officer. “But, instead, go directly to, for example, amazon.com or walmart.com. That way, you know you’re interacting with the organization itself, and not someone purporting to be that organization.”
Ford says you’d be surprised at how many times an e-mail looks real, except for all the misspellings and suspicious return e-mail address.
There’s also a new way for hackers to try and scam.
“A new thing is warnings and alerts that are sent to you via text or via e-mail, alerting you that some malicious activity has happened with your account, offering a link that you can click to talk to somebody immediately, or interact with the site,” said Ford. “Be skeptical of those, and go instead directly to that bank or retailer’s website, not from the e-mail link.”
Ford also says you should keep a close eye on bank and credit card statements for any disparities.
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