Don’t Let Scams Ruin Mom’s Big Day

Mother's Day can be an emotional time for many families allowing them to honor and celebrate the maternal figures in their lives. However, it's important for these devoted mothers to be vigilant, as cybercriminals often exploit the celebrations by targeting gift shoppers with various scams, such as tech support scams, lottery scams, and more. In this article, we will discuss these typical Mother's Day frauds that can happen, offer advice on safeguarding your family, and highlight the role Guardio can play in protecting your personal information.

The rise of scams on Mother’s day

Mother’s day is an attractive time for scammers and cybercriminals due to several reasons:

1. An increase in online activity means more opportunity for them to target users who might not be “tech savvy” about online scams
2. Mother’s day is usually an emotional affair giving scammers the ability to prey on people’s good intentions and make them fall for offers that seem too good to be true. Using attractive offers and deals, scammers can trick people into impulse decisions they might not typically make.
3. Increased social media usage among the older population, who are generally not tech-savvy and more susceptible to scams and cyberattacks. Instead of emails, attacks can use direct messages on social media platforms to make their attacks seem more personal

Scams come in all shapes and sizes on Mother’s day, and it is essential to educate yourself on the same. To give an idea of the estimate of this problem, the FBI estimates that nearly 3 billion USD is lost every year by elderly people in online scams.

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Some of the most common ones are:

• Fake Online stores: Scammers can create legitimate-looking websites that offer huge deals and discounts. Promoting these links and deals can trick people into handing over their payment details and other personal information.
• Counterfeit products and discounts: Another scam is offering fake products on legitimate-looking websites or fake discounts that do not exist. By exploiting customers' trust in legitimate websites, these scammers can again trick users into purchasing non-existent items.
• Phishing scams: The oldest and most popular internet scam is phishing, in which legitimate-looking emails are sent by scammers that contain malicious links or attachments to trick them into clicking on the same. On Mother’s day, scammers may customize these emails to promote special offers, gifts, and e-cards, knowing that some people might impulse purchase. Phishing attacks are no longer only present in email but have evolved to cover social media platforms as well. By creating fake profiles, scammers can leverage the trust of these platforms and create fake links or giveaways contents on Mother’s day.
• Fake charity scams: Abusing the emotional aspect of Mother’s day, scammers may pose as fake charity organizations and attempt to solicit donations for a legitimate look cause centered around mothers.
• Gift card scams: Another common tactic is to sell gift cards around mothers’ day that are either fake or already used. Gift cards are a standard purchase around Mothers’ day, and attackers can take advantage of their popularity wants their heart (or their bank account) to be broken.

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Be wary of Tech support scams

Tech support scams are a common type of fraud in which cyber criminals pose as tech support professionals from legitimate companies. Usually targeting older people, they can infect their computers with malicious software or trick them into handing over their personal information. These scams are frequent throughout the year but can see a rise during mother’s day due to the increase in online activity.
Older people are especially at risk due to their limited technical knowledge and tendency to trust people who claim to be from legitimate companies. Scammers also take advantage of the social isolation of senior citizens, knowing that their online presence might be the only contact with the outside world, making them more susceptible to such attacks. Educating older people about such scams and informing them of the telltale warning signs is essential. Inform them to contact family members to verify the legitimacy of any tech support calls, especially during Mothers’ day.

Tips to teach our mothers to protect them from scams on Mothers’ day

Despite the growing increase of such attacks, there are easy ways to protect yourself from such scams. Some of the essential tips to follow are;

• Verify the legitimacy of online stores: Make sure that website is valid by verifying the website’s URL and contact information before handing over any personal information. Read customer reviews of this website to find out if the website is trustworthy and if others have made purchases from the same.
• Be cautious of suspicious discounts or deals: Verify any deal that seems too good to be true. Is it coming from a source you are familiar with? If you are unaware of the link source, then do not click on the same, especially if it is offering a discount that seems to be out of the ordinary
• Protect personal information: Keep your devices and computers up to date with antivirus software and patches. Make sure you know how to set strong passwords and change them regularly. Always practice good password security and never hand over this information to any person.
• Verify charities: Before donating, visit the charity’s website and verify their information and financial records. Verify that the charity is registered and has a tax-exempt status proving its authenticity
• Purchase gift cards from trusted sources: Do not purchase gift cards from websites you are not familiar with as there is a high chance they might be used or fake. Inspect any gift cards for signs they have been opened or tampered with before using

How Guardio can protect your loved ones and family members from scams

Guardio (https://guard.io/) offer comprehensive protection against online threats, including scams targeting Mother's Day. With one subscription, you can protect up to five family members, ensuring your loved ones enjoy a safe and scam-free celebration. Guardio's advanced security features help detect and block malicious websites, phishing scams, and other online threats, so you can shop and celebrate with peace of mind. Don't let scammers ruin this special day - choose Guardio to safeguard your family's online experience. Mother’s day can be a beautiful occasion so do not let scammers spoil it for you or your family. Take the necessary precautions so that you and your loved ones can enjoy this special day in comfort and security!

Sign up for a 14 days free trial

Guardio is a Chrome extension that monitors suspicious activity and blocks hackers from stealing your data.