(KERO) — This holiday season most of us are expecting packages so if you receive an email with information about your order you might not think twice before clicking the link. But as Mallory Sofastaii explains that link could be a gateway to your personal information and passwords.
As online sales grow so does the opportunity for scammers sending phishing emails and texts. It takes just one click and you could be handing over passwords and access to your accounts.
This time of year our inboxes are flooded with holiday deals and promotions. As well as emails like this one:
And while the logo is real the email is fake. The sender hoping you instinctively click the link.
The link will take you to a fake website requesting personal identifying information or the link can release malware into your phone or computer.
Over the summer we saw an increase in text message scams as online sales surged. Again they provide just enough to make you believe it's from a real shipping carrier as a way to reel you in.
That malware is designed to capture your personal information like passwords through keystrokes.
An easy way to avoid temptation: keep a folder in your inbox just for order and tracking information
Move it over there and if you get a notification of shipping that tells you your order's delayed or something. Verify did you really order something that's going to be delivered from that particular shipping handling entity and verify that it is true and look at the tracking numbers. That's critical.
Other giveaways include poor grammar or spelling errors.
If you receive one of these emails you can forward it to USPS, Amazon, or UPS to investigate.
