Stay safe from phishing with Kaspersky this V-Day!

Did you know that in 2019, Kaspersky experts detected a sharp increase in phishing activities from cybercriminals offering users various romantic goods on the eve of St. Valentine’s Day? In fact, the total number of user attempts to visit fraudulent websites with a romantic theme that were detected and blocked during the first half of February 2019 more than doubled compared to the same time in 2018.

This is a strong reminder that fraudsters are always looking for an excuse to steal users’ data and money. And often occasions such as Valentine’s Day make it easy for these cybercriminals to carry out their attacks – as many consumers rush online to buy that perfect gift.

Phishing is one of the most popular and easiest social engineering techniques to exploit online users. It is a type of fraud where criminals use deception to acquire users’ credentials – from passwords to credit card numbers, bank account details and other financially important information. Phishing emails and websites usually come disguised as legitimate, and entice the recipient, for one reason or another, to urgently enter their personal data. They are often fuelled by the news agenda, be it a major sport event or special occasions – like the celebration of Valentine’s Day.

Any activity online – whether shopping or banking and at any time of the year, needs to be carried out on a device that is appropriately protected, to ensure that you do not fall victim to these fraudsters and their tricks.