Friend request phishing gaining traction
It's the time of year for family and friends. Cyber-criminals hope to take advantage of the season by sending out "New Friend Request" e-mails from social networking sites.
"It looks exactly like you would think it does, as a Facebook friend request or MySpace friend request," says David Marcus, an online security expert at McAfee.
Don't click on the link in these e-mails. You could wind up on a fake site that looks exactly like Facebook or MySpace that can automatically install malicious software on your computer, such as spyware programs that can steal your personal information.
So what should you do if you get a new friend request and you're not sure if it's legit?
"Go to Facebook itself, log into the application and see if they friend requests are actually in the application," Marcus says. "Still do a little bit of homework. Who else do they know in your friends list? Then accept them as a friend."
One more thing to be cautious about -- electronic holiday greeting cards, especially from someone you don't know.
Don't click on a link in the e-mail to retrieve your card and never open an e-card that comes as an attachment.
The safest way to view an electronic greeting is to go to the real web site and type in code that comes in the email. It's a little extra work but it could protect your computer from a dangerous infection.
For more information
Popular online attacks this holiday season
"It looks exactly like you would think it does, as a Facebook friend request or MySpace friend request," says David Marcus, an online security expert at McAfee.
Don't click on the link in these e-mails. You could wind up on a fake site that looks exactly like Facebook or MySpace that can automatically install malicious software on your computer, such as spyware programs that can steal your personal information.
So what should you do if you get a new friend request and you're not sure if it's legit?
"Go to Facebook itself, log into the application and see if they friend requests are actually in the application," Marcus says. "Still do a little bit of homework. Who else do they know in your friends list? Then accept them as a friend."
One more thing to be cautious about -- electronic holiday greeting cards, especially from someone you don't know.
Don't click on a link in the e-mail to retrieve your card and never open an e-card that comes as an attachment.
The safest way to view an electronic greeting is to go to the real web site and type in code that comes in the email. It's a little extra work but it could protect your computer from a dangerous infection.
For more information
Popular online attacks this holiday season