Too Good To Be True? Watch Out for Online Shopping Scams

Submitted by abshaver on

It's the most wonderful time of the year—holiday shopping and sales are right around the corner. During the pandemic, you may be doing more shopping online. Unfortunately, cybercriminals know this and may be looking for opportunities to steal your money or personal information. In August, the FBI warned of an increase in online shopping scams.

How do cybercriminals do this? In some cases, they set up fraudulent websites that look legitimate and promote them on social media. In other cases, scammers send promotional emails promising discounted products that contain phishing attempts or viruses.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself when shopping online:

  • What is the website's URL? Instead of .com, fake websites may have URLs ending with .club and .top.
  • Does the deal seem too good to be true? Websites may offer merchandise at significantly discounted prices (for example, bicycles at 80% off).
  • Where is the deal being advertised? Fake websites are often advertised on social media. If it's a real sale, it will also be advertised on the retailer's website.

Here are some tips from the FBI and our Information Security team to stay safe when you are shopping online:

  • If you receive an email with links to sales or promotion codes, don't click on the links within the email. Sometimes, these links are from fraudulent websites and contain computer viruses. Instead, go directly to the store's website. If you want to use a promotion code, type it directly when you are checking out.
  • Check out the business's reviews and ratings on the Better Business Bureau’s website.
  • Be wary of online retailers offering goods at significantly discounted prices.
  • Be wary of online retailers who use a free email service instead of a company email address.
  • Don’t judge a company by their website; flashy websites can be set up and taken down quickly.
  • Don't use your work computer for online shopping. That way, if you do accidentally click a malicious link, our patients' information will not be compromised.

Be vigilant! Visit the TSG hub for more information about phishing and how to spot a suspicious email.

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Key points
Online shopping scams have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Scammers sometimes set up fake websites or send promotional emails that contain viruses.
Be vigilant when shopping online and don't click on links within emails or on social media advertisements. Instead, go directly to a store's website.
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In the last month, several health care systems have been targeted by ransomware attacks. Ransomware is a type of malicious software that encrypts files and systems so they are unusable. The cybercriminals behind the attack then demand a large ransom payment in order to get the decryption key to restore access.

Our Information Security team has been preparing for these attacks. We are deploying an advanced malware protection tool to all Carilion computers. The tool has been extensively tested throughout the summer and is already successfully protecting thousands of computers across Carilion.

With that said, we need your help. Because cybercriminals constantly change the appearance of ransomware, the new tool can’t look for specific files, but rather relies on detecting malicious behavior. We need you to let us know if any software or system you use suddenly stops working or begins working differently. It’s very unlikely – but possible – that the tool is misinterpreting normal behavior. If this occurs, we can quickly remediate the issue if you let us know. Please call the Technology Service Center at 540-224-1599 (71599) if you notice anything out of the ordinary.

Title
Protecting Against Ransomware