Love is not just in the air but also on the Net!
For this Valentine’s season, the word ‘love’ is the top searched word on the Internet and it is one of those times when online shopping activity peaks.
As per Google Insights, the last seven-day searches have been on love with users looking for love SMSes, love quotes, love lyrics, etc. But the interesting trend this time is that such searches are higher from tier-II cities of Tamil Nadu like Vellore, Sivakasi and Madurai.
But along with this commercial activity, the threat of cyber crimes, too, seems to be looming large. Spam levels with themes such as unbelievable discounts on jewellery, dinners, expensive gifts, e-cards, chocolates and flowers have surged, which lead to sites that ask for personal details.
The newest spam that is popular this season is the coupon spam: Coupon services bring potential threats of phishing attacks, says Ms Maria Namestnikova, Senior Spam Analyst, Kaspersky Lab.
“Phishers can be interested in users who have funds in their accounts with a coupon service — funds which they can spend immediately when an offer takes their fancy,” she warns.
Users should not open or respond to any unsolicited e-mail themed around love, Valentine’s day and special discounts, warns anti-virus software major Symantec.
In one sample, spammers invite users to purchase some jewellery which comes with an additional free incentive gift for which they are directed to another site that collects personal information to mail the same. This information can then be misused by cyber criminals to steal one’s online identity, access to bank accounts or abuse credit card details, warns Mr Effendy Ibrahim, Internet safety advocate of Symantec.
According to Norton Cybecrime Report 2011, netizens in India lost close to $4 billion during last year alone! The report reveals that about 80 per cent of online adults in the country fell victim to cyber crime in 2011.
India is ranked among the top five countries for spam zombies globally. Growing Internet user base, particularly among smaller towns and cities where there are most first-time users, create a significant advantage for cyber criminals.
The latest Internet Security Threat Report XVI also found that India ranked sixth globally for overall malicious activity, and second for malicious code infections. Consumers should be alert to such spam mails and fake websites by investing in good security software, advises Mr Ibrahim.
Watch out for ‘too-good-to-be-true’ deals and think before you click, he cautions.
