Thanksgiving Day is one of the major holidays celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. The following Friday, referred to as Black Friday, marks the start of the Christmas holiday shopping season. Almost every retailer large and small offers huge discounts on Black Friday, often extending through the weekend and the following Monday, now known as Cyber Monday.
As we near Thanksgiving and the start of the holiday shopping frenzy, the Zscaler ThreatLabZ Research Team is observing a sharp increase in cyber scams and phishing activities targeting online shoppers. As shoppers look for the best deals available, cybercriminals are quick to take advantage of unsuspecting users.
Increase in online shopping transactions
Every year during this timeframe, Zscaler observes a noticeable spike in the total number of web transactions within the Shopping category. The research team has shared this trend in their previous blogs as well ([1],[2]).
Last year, they saw around 2.71% of all the web transactions categorised as Shopping and this year is no different. They currently see that 2.63% of total web transactions belong to the Shopping category and expect this number to rise as we approach the end of the month.
Cyber Scams and Phishing attacks
The increase in Shopping activity comes with an unwelcome increase in phishing attempts. Phishing is a well known attack method, often used by attackers to steal sensitive information like authentication credentials, credit card numbers and personal information. Zscaler has already seen a large spike in Phishing and Spam activity, specifically targeting Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday events.
The Zscaler ThreatLabZ research team have blogged, showing the phishing transactions for this month that have been blocked by Zscaler. They also provide tips for how online shoppers can protect themselves.