Holiday Season Phishing Scams and Malware Campaigns

As the winter holidays are quickly approaching, US-CERT is republishing this entry to increase awareness.



In the past, US-CERT has received reports of an increased number of phishing scams and malware campaigns that take advantage of the winter holiday and holiday shopping season. US-CERT reminds users to remain cautious when receiving unsolicited email messages that could be part of a potential phishing scam or malware campaign.



These phishing scams and malware campaigns may include but are not limited to the following:

• electronic greeting cards that may contain malware
• requests for charitable contributions that may be phishing scams and may originate from illegitimate sources claiming to be charities
• screensavers or other forms of media that may contain malware
• credit card applications that may be phishing scams or identity theft attempts
• online shopping advertisements that may be phishing scams or identity theft attempts from bogus retailers

US-CERT encourages users and administrators to use caution when encountering these types of email messages and take the following preventative measures to protect themselves from phishing scams and malware campaigns:

• Do not follow unsolicited web links in email messages.
• Use caution when opening email attachments. Refer to the Using Caution with Email Attachments Cyber Security Tip for more information on safely handling email attachments.
• Maintain up-to-date antivirus software.
• Review the Federal Trade Commission's Charity Checklist.
• Verify charity authenticity through a trusted contact number. Trusted contact information can be found on the Better Business Bureau National Charity Report Index.
• Refer to the Recognizing and Avoiding Email Scams (pdf) document for more information on avoiding email scams.
• Refer to the Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks Cyber Security Tip for more information on social engineering attacks.
• Refer to the Shopping Safely Online Cyber Security Tip for more information on online shopping safety.