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With more Americans turning to the Internet for more of their holiday shopping needs, good cybersecurity is vital to avoid a raft of scams – from promises of "free iPads" to "holidays screensavers" that install malware on your computer. Here are the "12 cyber scams of Christmas."
Some fraudulent QR codes can damage unprotected phones. (PRNewsFoto/Lockerz)
2. Is that QR code safe?
More than half of US consumers who own a smart phone say they will use their device for holiday-shopping activities – including researching products, redeeming coupons, or buying holiday gifts, McAfee reports. New versions target QR codes, a digital bar code consumers scan with smart phones to find deals or learn about products.
But malicious QR codes affixed on top of legitimate codes could compromise a phone's security. Only about 23 percent of smart phone users having enabled security software, according to a report this summer by Global Industry Analysts. Be sure your smart phone has updated security software.
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