This time of year is rife with gift shopping and charitable giving, both major breeding grounds for cybersecurity threats.  From phishing to “vishing” and social engineering, scammers are looking for ways to access online accounts, credit card numbers, and other personal and sensitive information.  Experts urge people to be aware of these threats and know how to keep their information – and ultimately money – away from bad actors. 

Phishing is the umbrella term for many types of scams.  Valerie Belusko, Community and Economic Development Educator with the University of Illinois Extension, says Phishing is when scammers reach out appearing to be or represent a known entity or some credible organization.

Cybersecurity experts and business email systems often urge users not to click on links from unverified senders.  This is because doing so may trigger scripts that infect systems with malware. 

One subset of phishing is called “vishing” and takes place during phone calls.  In this instance, scammers use a variety of tricks to compel the potential victim to say something that then leads to theft. 

Another form of scamming – “social engineering” – centers around pure interpersonal communication.  This is when a bad actor looks to take advantage of someone else’s good nature to gain information and access needed to commit theft. 

More information on the University of Illinois Extension is available at extension.illinois.edu.

Valerie Belusko appeared as a guest on the WTIM Morning Show.