NEW YORK: Around half the people canvassed by Mastercard in a recent survey would take their chances with scammy-looking offers when shopping for cut-price deals ahead of Christmas.
Although 41% of respondents claimed to be "more cautious online this time of year," around one in two admitted that they would "ignore security red flags" if they spotted a "deep discount" or a "perfect hard-to-find gift."
Many people have found out the hard way after seeing such warning signs and carrying on regardless, with nearly one in five of those surveyed by Mastercard saying they had ordered items that never arrived, and a further 16% reporting they were sent fake goods.
Worse still, such offers can be ruses to trick people into handing over personal and financial information.
"QR codes and flashy ads with enticing 'low' prices aren’t always gifts," Mastercard said, warning that such pages can be "wrapped up in trouble."
Shoppers need to watch out for malware or "fake sites that hope you’ll unwittingly enter your credit card information," Mastercard warned, claiming to have intercepted US$50bil (RM207.52bil) worth of fraudulent transactions over the past three years.
"Make sure your holiday shopping is secure so you can focus on what matters most," advised Alissa Abdullah, Mastercard’s deputy chief security officer.
Last week, Europol announced the arrests of 18 suspects from three crime gangs over allegations of "misusing credit card data from over 4.3 million cardholders across 193 countries."
Around the same time, Internet security company CrowdStrike published a report suggesting Europeans are vulnerable to various forms of cybercrime, accounting for almost a quarter of victims in some categories. – dpa/Tribune News Service
