The Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSE) and its Get Cyber Safe campaign, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) are reminding Canadian consumers to be vigilant of cyber threats while shopping online this Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
In the rush to secure deals online, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of the big savings offered by savvy retailers. As cybercrime activity continues to rise, shoppers must take extra steps to help protect themselves from the risks of online shopping. In 2023, the CAFC received, 116,408 reports of fraud with over $575 million in associated losses. Online merchandise frauds accounted for $12 million of these losses.
The Get Cyber Safe campaign, with advice and guidance from CSE's Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (the Cyber Centre), offers Canadians simple steps to protect themselves and their sensitive and personal information this Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It's important to recognize signs of illegitimate online stores and purchase only from secure and trusted websites.
Canadians should be wary of:
- prices that are too low - there's a limit to how much consumers can expect to save
- red flags about payment - for legitimate online stores, the process for paying for merchandise should be straightforward and standardized. Canadians should be wary of processes that seem overly complicated
- stores that are missing key information - most legitimate retailers will have a return policy, a privacy policy and proper contact information for their business
- web links that are missing security elements - a padlock symbol next to the URL in the address bar that is open or missing, as well as a website that does not have the "s" next to "http" indicates that the website and its data are not secure
- typos or errors in the URL of the store - a common method of spoofing websites of popular brands is to substitute correct letters for ones that appear to be accurate, for example Go0gle.com
Canadian consumers are encouraged to take extra steps to protect their data and accounts when shopping online, to avoid falling victim to fraud. These steps include:
- never save credit card information in a browser
- always make online purchases through personal Wi-Fi networks
- if purchases must be made on public networks, use cellular data or set up a virtual private network (VPN)
- purchase from familiar retailers
- do research and read reviews
Common sense is a good guide for staying cyber safe during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday period. A simple adage that is particularly applicable during the holidays is if something appears too good to be true, it probably is.
The Get Cyber Safe and CAFC websites offer Canadians important information and tools to stay cyber safe in all aspects of their lives. Visit the Get Cyber Safe holiday resources and Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre's holiday scams and fraud
