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Scams Abound On Cyber Monday

By Aimee Picchi for MONEYWATCH

There may be nothing more alluring to a scammer than an unsuspecting shopper looking for online deals.

Today marks Cyber Monday, the Internet's answer to Black Friday, which is pegged to the Monday after Thanksgiving. It's a day when online retailers roll out their deals and discounts, hoping to lure consumers away from brick-and-mortar shopping. But it's also become a holiday for criminals, who are also ready to pounce, especially as Cyber Monday sales are set to reach $3 billion this year.

Ugg boots at an impossibly low price? A "dream car" sold by J.C. Penney (JCP)? Both "deal" are, in fact, holiday scams that emerged this month as crooks ramped up their campaigns to lure unwary shoppers, according to computer security blog Naked Security.

The Ugg boot offer -- which promised the boots for $65, instead of their $100-and-up retail price -- sent shoppers to a site asking for credit card information without a secure payment link, while the J.C. Penney ad linked to a site hawking life insurance and other products.

One favorite technique of scammers is the old-fashioned email, which they design to look as if it comes from a known retailer. The email includes a link that lures shoppers to a fake site, where scammers may try to steal credit card data or personal information, or seek to infect your devices with malware.

Some consumers are already aware of security issues, although older shoppers may be more likely to fall for such schemes, data from the National Cyber Security Alliance suggest. About 45 percent of consumers 18- to 24-years-old have said they abandoned an online purchase because of security concerns, compared with only 24 percent in the 55-to-69-year-old age group.

So how can consumers be alert to potential scams? Click here to read the five tips recommended by security experts.

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