Are You Ready for the Holiday Season? Scammers Certainly Are

Peace on earth, goodwill towards everyone, and cybercrime. Unfortunately those three things go together. People are shopping furiously, hungry for a bargain and eager to jump on something that seems too good to be true. And of course, it is. Here’s one of my favorite examples, because every year, the following scam makes the rounds on social media.

Of course, Costco is not going to give a $75 coupon to everyone. No business will give a $75 coupon to everyone, especially with no limits on how many coupons you can use and no requirement to sign up for anything, even a newsletter. This particular hoax shows up every year, and Costco has to deny it. By the way, this particular fake coupon was shared by 3 of my friends on Facebook.

Why do people put up these fake coupons up? It varies. In some cases they are getting paid per-like or per-share. In some cases they are harvesting the information of social media users who like or share. Sometimes they plant malware in the coupon: if this had been a quick code like this instead of a barcode, it could have been programmed to download malware into a phone. Sometimes the offer is not a coupon, but an add to lure you to a fake website to steal your information.

What can you do?

Be careful about what you like and click on. And, be careful about what you share. It’s so easy to check the validity of most memes, coupons, and offers. Take the time to not spread fake news, fake coupons, and fake offers. We’re all eager to share good deals with our friends, but we should be just as eager to protect them, and ourselves.

About Cybersafe
The Division of Information Technology is dedicated to informing the community of the latest cybersecurity threats. Visit fitnyc.edu/cybersafe and stay tuned for emails from [email protected] for the latest from the Cybersafe campaign at FIT.

Walter Kerner
Chief Information Security Officer
Division of Information Technology 

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