Black Friday and cyber malice

With the current situation in the world with the crisis of Covid-19, some of the annual events are affected.

In France, for example, the event that is supposed to take place every November has been postponed because of the containment. However, on the Internet, it is possible to find some enticing plans already. And that's what has been the case for an explosion of online sales for some time, particularly because of the closure of several physical businesses. However, you will have to be very careful. Because this period of massive sales and sales online present themselves as an opportunity for hackers, who comes on never lacks such an opportunity to multiply their acts of cyber malice.

This article will also interest you: Where is the commonality between Black Friday and cybersecurity?

On November 18, computer security company Checkpoint said it had made an observation of the activity of hackers. The observation focused on the last 6 weeks especially in the run-up to Black Friday. An upsurge in phishing campaigns has been highlighted by researchers specifically targeting buyers. "There are phishing attacks all year round but there is strong growth during these promotion periods. They are increasingly sophisticated to deceive the vigilance of victims," said Jérôme Soyer, European technical director of Varonis, another company specialising in detecting computer attacks.

These computer attacks are classics of their kind. Hackers pose as legitimate sites, brands or the usual services of consumers. It encourages consumers to provide them with certain information without them noticing. These may be bank data, name deformation such as names and surnames, date of birth etc. Once in possession of this information and it is possible for them to use it for the purpose of identity theft or other act of cyber malice. "They can take the form of a fake delivery SMS from The Post Office, Chronopost or DHL, a fake email from Microsoft or Apple or other reputable entities. explains Jérôme Soyer.

Yet it is quite simple to protect against this day of cyberattack. Indeed, simple basic gestures could be a barrier. Just pay attention to misspellings and syntaxes, slow website or URL changes.

Moreover, Internet users have long been advised to pay close attention to offers that are too enticing even if some are not well developed enough to easily deceive. "Attackers regularly use the so-called "look alike" method. They impersonate a domain to impersonate a respected third party and trick victims into clicking on a malicious link. Varonis' manager notes. Often there are imitations so successful, that it is difficult to distinguish between the true and the false. Therefore, we should be vigilant, as Jérôme Soyer points out. It is also advisable to always make sure that the padlock is present, which justifies the use of a more secure HTTPS protocol. Something that is missing a lot about sites spoofed by cyber criminals. It is a kind of identification to be sure that the site is secure and reliable.

Promotions that are too surreal must be very analytical on the part of the Internet user because "you don't win iPhone 12s like that thanks to an email". To make any purchase, it is advisable to go directly to the website of the service concerned. "If you're in any doubt, don't click. You should never leave information on a site if you didn't make sure it wasn't fake," says the expert.

Another key point is the use of payment methods such as PayPal or Apple Pay or Visa bank card payments. The information in the banking information must be done as thoroughly as possible. You should be wary when it is necessary to provide your bank statement of identity. No one should have access to this information. Because recently several scams with RIB have been observed and on several platforms for that matter.

When you are a victim of abuse, do not hesitate to inform your bank immediately and as soon as possible. There is also the government platform to support victims of online scams and facilitate complaint filings. They can put you in touch with specialists in the field to solve your problem.

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