On 12 and 13 July, the discounts of theAmazon Prime Daya date on the calendar for cybercriminals too: attacks are expected to increase by phishing. Emails from fake couriers and sellers trying to scam us and gain access to our devices. Check Point Research studied the activities of hackers in the vicinity of these large online discounts to give some advice to protect us when shopping.
Amazon Prime Day e phishing: i rischi secondo Check Point Research
From technology to coffee pods, many users are already on the hunt for unique offers online, on the largest e-commerce platform in the world. And that means that too cybercriminals are preparing to take advantage of this critical moment.
Phishing involving Amazon occurs year round. In fact, the company is often among the brands most imitated by hackers. Leveraging a mix of poor user cybersecurity preparedness and increased Prime Day purchases, there is a increased malicious activity.
Check Point Research (CPR)the Threat Intelligence division of Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd. has already found several active phishing campaigns.
In early July, Check Point Research has already registered a 37% increase in daily phishing attacks related to Amazon compared to last month. Moreover, during the month of June 2022, they were almost registered 1,900 new domains linked to the term “amazon”. According to the researchers, at least 9.5% could be malicious or suspicious.
Last year, during the month of Amazon Prime Day (June 2021), we saw an 86% increase in related phishing emails. The growth in phishing URLs was 16%.
Scams of this type usually exploit a misplaced sense of urgency. For example, they tell you that a package is pending and you must immediately provide data to start the shipment. They also often pretend to be a company’s authority, to trick users into clicking on malware and providing data. And often they are real blackmail against the unfortunate. All psychological tricks to make you make the wrong decisions.
What to do in the event of a suspicious phishing attack
Check Point, if you find an email that does not convince you, which has a strange URL (not amazon.it but some variant), we recommend:
- Not respondingrand, don’t clickrand on the links and do not openrand attachments
- Reportrand the email to the IT or security team
- Delete the suspicious email
In any case, remember that if you have any doubts you can write directly in the Amazon Help chat to ask for information on any emails or procedures to follow. Stay calm and you will certainly be able to take advantage of the discounts, without ending up in a scam.