Consumers are being cautioned to be exceptionally careful of public WiFi hotspots and fake apps.
With shoppers out by the millions today, trying to find the best deal, Black Friday mobile security efforts will be critically important. Cybercriminals know that consumers will be downloading mobile commerce apps and will be tapping into public WiFi hotspots. This provides them with the perfect opportunity to launch their scams.
Anyone planning to use their smartphones should be aware of these types of fraud so they can protect themselves.
Anyone hoping not to have to deal with Black Friday mobile security problems will need to inform themselves. They will also need to take precautions. Fake m-commerce apps are expected to abound, as will fake Wi-Fi hotspots in busy locations such as malls. A growing number of security firms have been reminding consumers to take care before blindly trusting an application or internet connection.
Hackers love opportunities such as Black Friday mobile security breaches to grab private information.
Two of the companies that have tried to warn consumers of the types of mobile security threats that can occur on days like today are RiskIQ and Skycure.
Mobility strategist Brian Duckering of Skycure blogged that “Cyber criminals are increasing our risk of using mobile devices while shopping, whether it is Black Friday or Cyber Monday.” He added that “Going to physical stores and connecting to risky Wi-Fi networks, or shopping online both pose increasing risks we should all be aware of.”
RiskIQ, an enterprise security firm, said that there is a greater cyber security risk for smartphone users this year than there was in 2015. Due to the larger number of mobile device users, there are also more active cyber criminals. They target shoppers using their mobile phones to discover products or even make the purchases while using in-store WiFi.
This year, RiskIQ predicts that nearly a third (30 percent) of online Black Friday and Cyber Monday spending will be over mobile devices. At the same time, Skycure’s forecast is that mobile payments will be used three times as much this year as last year. These open the doors to more Black Friday mobile security issues and it’s up to consumers to protect themselves.
Shoppers are now eyeing the retailer to find out precisely what the deals will be. This isn’t the first time Walmart moved online and mobile commerce ahead from Cyber Monday. Last year, its online sales were launched on a Cyber Sunday instead. Promotions began at 6pm that evening and carried over into the next day.