5 Tech Scams That Will Ruin Your Holiday

It’s the most wonderful time of the year.  The holidays are a time for celebration and cheer and unfortunatly some folks in the holiday spirit will let their guard down and become victims to holiday tech scams and hidden holiday virus and malware. Don’t let any of these 5 tech scams ruin your holiday season.

Fake Holiday E-Greeting Cards

Many people like to share holiday wishes and greetings over email. E-Cards are an inexpensive alternative to traditional greeting cards. These emails usually urge a computer user to click a link to receive their electronic greeting card from a friend. However watch-out, this link could be to a malicious website meant to phish your personal information or to get you to download a virus or other malicious software onto your computer. If you think you may have been duped into clicking a fake e-card links it is probably time to get your computer checked for virus and malware at South City Computer or a local computer repair store.

Charity Donation Scams

The season of giving is upon us, and many people will be making generous donations to causes and charities in hopes to make the holiday a little brighter for those who are less fortunate. However, watch out for fake charity emails going around the Internet and Facebook trying to silicate donations to phony veterans’ charities, children’s causes and relief funds. Make sure to look into a charity before making a donation to be sure it is a legitimate 501c3 organization and not just a scam to take your generosity for granted.

Gift Card Scams

Finding the right gift for some people can be a real challenge. Gift cards are the perfect gift option for those on your list who are hard to shop for. However, watch-out for fake gift card offers on social media websites like Facebook and Twitter that are actually scams to phish consumer information and/or credit card details. A recent Facebook scam offered a free $1000 Best Buy gift card to the first 20,000 people who sign up on an identity phishing website.

Holiday Themed Screensavers and Games

Holiday themed computer games and screensavers are a fun way to decorate your computer for the holiday. But many of these screensavers and games are actually computer viruses or malware meant to infect havoc on your computer. Be very cautious when downloading and installing holiday games and screensavers, try to only use software put out by reputable software makers. If you think you may have downloaded and installed a fake screensaver or holiday game program onto your computer, bring it into South City Computer for a virus/malware scan and removal.

Holiday Deals Too Good to be True

Many people will scour the Internet for websites where they can save a few bucks when buying gifts online. However watchout for holiday deals that are probably too good to be true on craigslist and phony e-commerce stores that are only meant to phish personal information and credit card data from unsuspecting consumers that believe they are purchasing gifts. Every holiday season the BBB hears from irritated holiday shoppers who paid for a supposedly great deal online, but received nothing in return. Try not to purchase from websites that do not use trusted 3rd party checkout payment processing such as Paypal, Amazon, Google Checkout, or Stripe.

Nobody wants to be a victim of online scams and using a little caution this holiday season just might keep you from getting scammed and becoming a “Scrooge”. If you think you may have been victim to one of these scams bring your computer into South City Computer or a local computer store for a virus/malware checkup, and please have a happy and safe holiday season this year!

// //
//