The holidays are a crazy-busy time for your clients’ employees and customers. In addition to attending FY24 planning sessions and closing end-of-year deals, they are also inundated with emails and texts from online retailers, travel sites, charitable organizations and more. It’s no surprise that nearly 75 percent of Americans in 2021 noted they experienced at least one type of holiday scam in the past, according to a report from AARP. Now is the perfect time to provide your clients’ employees with Fortinet’s security awareness training.
3 Holiday Scams To Watch Out For
Cybercriminals love the holidays as much as we do. They capitalize on the increase in online shopping, travel and charitable giving during the holiday season by trying to trick you into giving up money, gift cards or sensitive information. These scams can happen throughout the holiday season—from Black Friday and Cyber Monday to the weeks leading up to New Year’s Eve.
Leveraging generative AI tools, bad actors can craft incredibly realistic phishing emails, text messages and social media ads that are devoid of typical spelling and grammatical errors. A well-intentioned yet overwhelmed employee can easily fall for one of the following holiday scams:
1. Fake Social Media Ads - Hackers create social media ads that lead you to fake online stores. They use these ads on social media to steal your money, credit card details and personal information.
2. Package Delivery Alerts - Bad actors send fake text messages claiming that a package you’ve been waiting for has been delayed and you need to pay a fee before it can be delivered.
3. Fake Charities and GoFundMe Scams - Cybercriminals create fake charities or GoFundMe campaigns to trick you into sending money or sharing your personal information.
Keep The Holidays Merry With Fortinet Security Awareness Training
Forget the holiday fruit cakes and give a gift that your clients can really use. Learn how Fortinet Security Awareness and Training delivers timely and current awareness training on today’s cybersecurity threats, including holiday scams. It can provide your clients and employees a great refresher on how to recognize and avoid falling victim to cyberattacks during the busy holiday season when cybercriminals are out in force.