Social media and marketplace scams surge ahead of the holiday season
New research from online protection company Malwarebytes exposes how social media and online marketplaces have become hotbeds for holiday shopping scams.
It finds that 51 percent of people encounter scams on social media weekly while an unlucky 27 percent meet scams daily. For marketplace shoppers, 36 percent are hit with a scam weekly and 15 percent experience one daily.
The $1 billion text message scam industry is yet another avenue for cybercriminals to lure victims around the holidays with delivery updates or USPS scams. 55 percent of people get a scam text message weekly, while 27 percent are targeted every day.
“Amid the holiday rush, scammers and hackers unwrap new tricks,” says Shahak Shalev, global head of scam and AI research at Malwarebytes. “We want to help shoppers of all generations spot the scams and tackle their holiday wish list with confidence -- by shopping on legitimate websites and mobile apps, caring about who has their data, and providing free tools like Browser Guard to block harmful websites and Scam Guard to help spot malicious texts, emails or Dms.”
Consumers tend to feel safe when transacting through platforms they use regularly, leaving them less likely to detect a scam. Younger shoppers are the most affected by scammers as peer-to-peer marketplaces offer the ideal mix of urgency and informality to trick shoppers into falling for a scam. The research shows 70 percent of marketplace scan victims are Gen Z/Millennial whereas they make up only 57 percent of overall victims.
Courier tracking scams are another popular source of scam activity. As delivery volume surges in November and December, fake shipping update texts or emails blend easily into the real flood of notifications. Again, younger shoppers are the most impacted. 42 percent have encountered a postal tracking scam and 12 percent have been a victim. Again younger consumers are more likely to suffer as 62 percent of victims of postal tracking scams are Gen Z/Millennial.
Malicious adverts also prey on deal-seekers’ impulse to click. Malwarebytes recently uncovered a Walmart gift card scheme that’s actually a data-harvesting trap. 58 percent have encountered ad-related malware with 27 percent have falling victim. In addition 40 percent of people have been targeted by Malvertising, while 11 percent have fallen victim.
You can read more and find tips on protecting yourself on the Malwarebytes blog.
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