Shop safely this festive season

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Looming threats for holiday shoppers

• ATM Fraud: ATM fraud continues to be a way for criminals to make a fast buck, from "jackpotting" cash machines, to installing malware directly on the ATM, to skimming card data and recording your PIN.
  
• Point-of-Sale Kiosk Malware: Infected Point of Sale Kiosks and other compromised systems have been responsible for major retail breaches over the last year. A device can become compromised without physical access to the register. In addition, it sometimes takes retailers a while to detect and neutralise the breach.
  
• Online Scams and Infected Retail Sites: As with retail shopping, malware designed to pilfer credit card information and then hand it over to cyber thieves runs rampant during the holiday season. In that same vein, keep your eye out for fake online stores that peddle counterfeit goods at too-good-to-be true prices.

How consumers can protect themselves this holiday season:

• Shop only at those stores both online and offline that you know and trust
  
• Use a credit card as opposed to a debit card to ensure fraud protection
  
• Use a credit card from a financial institution that offers one-time use, time-limited or virtual credit card numbers
  
• When shopping online, be sure to transmit financial information via SSL for a secure connection
  
• Only download shopping applications from an official app store and delete the app if it asks for too much information at registration
  
• Never click on a link in an email, especially if the email claims to be from your bank
  
• Use a "Live CD" or dedicated browser when conducting online searches and shopping activities

"This year, spending on holiday shopping is expected to increase significantly from last year, with more than half of that increase coming from shoppers using smartphones," said Jonas Thulin, Security Consultant at Fortinet. "Buyers need to beware of possible threats to their personal and financial information whether online, on their phones or in-store. Knowing what to watch for and taking measures to protect themselves and their devices is critical to avoid being impacted."

The FortiGuard Labs global research team continuously monitors the evolving threat landscape and distributes on a daily basis to its customers worldwide preventative measures to protect those customers from newly introduced, sophisticated cyber-threats. More than 200 researchers and automated detection and prevention technology provide around-the-clock coverage to ensure networks stay protected, despite a sophisticated and ever-changing threat landscape. The company delivers rapid updates and detailed security knowledge, providing protection from the latest threats.