NCSC: Don’t Fall for Mother’s Day Scams This Week

UK security experts have warned online shoppers to be aware of scams ahead of Mothering Sunday this weekend.

The National Cyber Security Center (NCSC), an offshoot of spy agency GCHQ, issued the notice yesterday, claiming that the mass shift to e-commerce during the pandemic has exposed more consumers to fraud.

It gave no specific details of current campaigns to look out for, although cyber-criminals will usually tailor their efforts according to current events.

Unsolicited emails and social media messages in the week before Mother’s Day may contain links designed to deploy malware or harvest credentials and personal information.

There’s also an increased risk of sites luring users to enter their card details with massive discounts on non-existent flowers, chocolates and other popular items.

“Cyber-criminals are opportunistic and always ready to exploit peak online shopping moments, and unfortunately, family occasions like Mother’s Day are no different,” warned NCSC deputy director for economy and society, Sarah Lyons.

“We want everyone to shop with confidence and peace of mind this Mother’s Day. The Cyber Aware website has advice on the six key behaviors that can be easily followed to protect yourself.”

These include: using strong, unique passwords and saving them to the browser, switching two-factor authentication on where possible, updating all devices and apps regularly and backing-up data.

Mothering Sunday is celebrated in the UK and Ireland on a different date to the US.

In related news, Europol yesterday announced the seizure of €16m w ..

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