Online Holiday Scams

CEBU, Philippines - As the online holiday shopping season is on full swing, scammers and phishing proponents are also doubling their efforts to "cash in" in the hustle and bustle.

Netizens who easily let their guards down run the risk of being victims of different scams and shams, from too-good-to-be-true deals to malicious tactics intent on stealing or hijacking personal information.

While not all of the holiday season's online shopping promotions and advertisements are scams, it pays to be cautious when dealing with them - especially for non-internet savvy or infrequent online shoppers.

Here are three ways online shoppers can steer clear from online holiday scams:

On questionable/suspicious shopping sites

Online shoppers can spot questionable/suspicious shopping sites from reputable ones by simply looking at the site itself, along with the assessing the overall experience it affords visitors with.

Unfamiliar or unknown shopping sites that are poorly designed and/or riddled with incessant pop-up windows are often branded as questionable or suspicious by digital security firms, given the fact that legitimate online retailers would never cut corners in providing visitors and potential buyers with quality online shopping experiences.

On "too good to be true" holiday deals

While "great finds" or "top value for money" purchases can be found in reputable shopping sites, online shoppers are advised to take a defensive, cautionary stance when it comes to "too good to be true" deals.

From "holiday promotions" that promise a complimentary iPad to come with the purchase of some random item or service (whose price tags are a tiny fraction of the actual cost of an iPad), to promises of a new DSLR camera to come after simply filling out a "survey", online shoppers should use their best judgments when "too good to be true" holiday deals come their way.

On questionable emails, hyperlinks and attachments

Phishing proponents are known to send out holiday greeting cards to just about anyone, asking them to click on questionable links or open suspicious attachments to "avail" of "special holiday season gifts" which could range from electronic gift cards to electronic discount coupons.

Recipients of such unsolicited emails that come from unknown senders are advised not to clink on links or download attachments, since the odds of these unsolicited emails bringing malware bits as "gifts" is a huge possibility.