We all know Black Friday, either because of a positive or negative experience (which made the date known as Black Fraud). This year, in Brazil, Black Friday will take place on November 25 , which has been generating great anxiety among consumers.
The main strategy of trade and the market in general at this time is to create a great expectation among consumers regarding the discounts and opportunities that will be offered on this date. Because of its proximity to the holidays, Black Friday uses the Christmas hook to sell more.
Due to the culture of celebrating Thanksgiving (Thanksgiving Day) , which is celebrated last Thursday of November, was established in the United States that the following Friday would be held to Black Friday. The purpose of the stores is to eliminate all their inventories to offer new products to the holidays.
Black Friday is certainly a special date
In Brazil, the first time this event was recorded was in 2010. At the time, there was a great disclosure to increase sales and many consumers took advantage of opportunities to purchase products with substantial discounts. However, in its launch, several attempts at fraud were found by stores , such as the increase in the value of products on the eve of Black Friday to, the next day, offer discounts.
This and other abusive practices eventually made the date known as Black Fraud. Many people noticed these coup attempts and started to publicize through social networks and other communication channels to alert other consumers. For this reason, the term “pejorative” has gained even more visibility, becoming an even greater reference than the objective of the event itself.
Although it represents a great opportunity so that consumers can purchase products and services with a great discount, it is very important that at this time of year people remain attentive. In this case, not only fraud regarding the value of products, but also the risks to information security that this event may favor. Take a look at this report to better understand how phishing blows can be applied at this time of year:
Phishing x yearning for discounts
Many regulatory and inspection bodies warn of coup attempts and traps that can be planted during the "Black Fraud". Many fraudsters take advantage of this time of year to plant traps and obtain confidential data and information , such as personal documents, credit card numbers and confidential information related to companies (such as tax data, employee registration, financial reports, among others).
For this reason, although there is a great yearning for discounts, people need to be very careful with the risks during Black Friday . It is necessary to pay attention to the emails received and messages received , especially when they present redirect links or attachments to download.
These contents are a real trap for users, created exclusively to collect data fraudulently and favor various types of scams. Cybercriminals create false pages identical to the originals to fool users or disguised emails that can induce victims to error, so that they end up providing confidential information.
This practice is known as phishing , and has been used since the 1990s, when the internet began to gain notoriety. During Black Friday, criminals take advantage of consumers' desire for discounts and promotions and end up creating emails, banners and fake websites to collect information and apply scams. For this reason, it is very important for consumers to know how to differentiate what is real and what can be an attempt to fraud.
How to identify fraud in “Black Fraud”?
Phishing is one of the most common blows during this time of year , endangering confidential information and bank data. This is because, in the desire to obtain interesting discounts and opportunities, customers often do not pay attention to the pages being accessed.
Although Procon provides a robust list of malicious websites to protect customers, it is essential that users pay attention to some details that help identify fraudulent sites. For example, it is very common for criminals to create identical pages to the original , placing a very similar domain, modifying only one letter so that it is as realistic as possible.
Because of the immense amount of phishing blows that are applied at this time, users should pay close attention to accessed websites and received content that seem suspects. Here are some tips for identifying possible pitfalls and fraud attempts:
1. Many cybercriminals use senders present in the victim's own contacts so that the sent content transmits security. For this reason, even if you know the sender, be wary of content that seems too personal or come from people you do not keep a frequent contact.
2. To get users to access links and attachments sent at a phishing email, cybercriminals build threatening content. These messages are written with a threatening and imperative tone to make the victim fall into the blow. An example of this is “security warning” emails, which request the user to access their account immediately , or change their access password because of an imminent invasion risk.
3. Unexpected and unusual attachments are a great sign that it is a phishing attempt. At the time of Black Friday, criminals send discount coupons, vouchers, invoices, order confirmations, among other maneuvers to deceive users.
4. Pay close attention to the links and redirect pages present in the emails received in order to check if they are legitimate pages.
5. Make sure the email has some grammatical error , which are very common in this type of trap.
6. UT Iizing sponsored links , cybercriminals can make their fake pages occupy a prominent position in research mechanisms. For this reason, when searching for a website or store, carefully check the address entered so as not to fall into a fraudulent page.
With this high expectation around promotions, opportunities and discounts provided by the store, many users end up with impulsive behavior by accessing pages and providing their data. When this access is made during working hours, this behavior can bring numerous damage to the company .
With so many threats on the Internet by jeopardizing the information and confidentiality of data stored by the company, it is essential to seek strategies and tools that allow you to ensure more security for your business.
How to protect the company against phishing during this period?
It is extremely important for the company to count on an internet use policy that helps to make employees aware of the correct and insurance use of the company's internet.
As we have seen, because of the cunning traps that are planted during the “Black Fraud”, it is necessary to have tools that help increase the security of company and employee data and information. An example of this is the internet control and lock tool that helps to avoid phishing blows and the consequences caused by this strategy.
This means that, with the help of this tool, the company can manage internet access standards and block content that may pose some risk to the company's data and security, such as social networks, e-commerce sites, personal emails, among others.
Website lock can be the best solution
As you realized, phishing attacks that always comes with malicious links , which, when clicked, can cause major problems for your business. The best solution to avoid any click is sure to block websites and domains considered harmful .
In summary, when using an Internet Access Control Tool, all access to websites such as the above examples will be automatically blocked by the tool, making it impossible for digital criminals to be able to take the data and information of the company or user who has access.
Below is a very short video that shows Lumiun Box , a Brazilian Internet access control solution focused on small and medium enterprises:
With simple and intuitive interface , you can block websites in a few clicks.
Download the full presentation of Lumiun Box and see more about the solution.
Until later!
