Scams during post-Christmas sales: “There are many things to watch out for”

During “Boxing Day”, many scams are likely to appear in the email boxes or social networks of many people looking for the best deals.

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In an interview with LCN, security consultant at Trilogium, Jacques Sauve, advises to be more wary of offers that seem too tempting and to double-check everything before buying online.

“You have to be careful about a lot of things,” he said. If it's too good to be true, it's too good to be true. “

Here are his 6 tips for avoiding scams.

Be wary of texts and emails from merchants

“It's probably legitimate 9 times out of 10, but there's always the risk that it's an email from scammers,” he explains. Why not open a browser to go directly to the website? We see that they exhibit the same sales.

Avoid the top results of Google searches

“Often people search Google for a product they want deals on,” says the expert. You should be very careful if the first links are often sponsored links. This is a tactic widely used by cyber bad guys. They buy ads and people get a bit lazy and click on the first thing they see and thus end up on the scammers site.

“There are certainly legitimate businesses that buy ads, but this is a common tactic used by scammers,” he says.

Be careful with sales on Marketplace and Kijiji

“Be wary of secondary sales markets like the Facebook marketplaces and Kijijis of this world,” says Mr. Sauvé said. There are plenty of scams out there, and at this time of year, there are going to be more.

Check transaction records

“In the coming weeks, especially if you shop online, monitor your bank and credit card accounts to see if there are any suspicious transactions,” he advises.

Raising awareness among seniors

“I encourage everyone to talk to their parents and grandparents about these things and remind them to be careful, not to trust callers,” Jacques Sauve said. We need to educate them on this matter and make them suspicious of everything.

“There are people advertising properties and you can take a profile picture, do a Google search and see it's not the person,” he continues.

Alternate and make passwords more complex

“Complex and distinct passwords for each site and two-factor authentication when possible,” he recommends. The best gift you can give yourself this holiday season is learning how to use a password manager.

Should we complain when we are victims?

“We can do reports, but honestly, the authorities, with the amount of scams, they don't have the resources to deal with it all,” admitted Mr Saw.

Watch the full interview in the video above