It’s Cyber Monday. And while browsing from your couch comes with so much ease, the risks are rampant too.
Frederick Scholl is the director of Quinnipiac University’s cyber security master’s program. He reminds consumers to not get too comfortable clicking on links.
Make sure you know the source.
If you know exactly where you want to shop, he urges shoppers to not click on links or ads to get to the supposed site, just type in the web address directly.
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Plus, he says watch out for misleading emails.
“People are sending out so many emails about special deals and use common sense because if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.”
The expert says one email even he got Cyber Monday morning was sketchy.
The subject line said it was a company he’d bought something from before, but the links in the body of the email wanted to bring him to other unrelated sites.
"Anytime you buy something online, your information is bought and sold by other companies and there could easily be some fraudulent companies operating in that space."
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And he says while it may sound old fashion, make sure you’re checking your credit card statement often, especially as we’re making a lot of transactions this time of year.
“I had a situation where someone had stolen my credit number and they bought something for like $50 every month and I didn’t notice it.”
Lastly, Scholl says make sure you use strong passwords.
