The Amazon Prime Day 2022 is fast approaching, and customers are all set to make the most of the in-store sale on July 12 and 13. Unfortunately, the most awaited day for shoppers is also a peak season for cybercriminals to pick on their targets.
Researchers claimed that these malicious threat actors patiently wait in the shadows while surveying the platform’s most probable target users. Based on reports, online shopping scammers have already been targeting Prime users in an attempt to launch malware or steal troves of sensitive data.
According to a recent tally, the daily average of phishing-related attacks in June has drastically increased in July. The study showed a 37 percent increase in phishing attacks as Prime Day neared.
In addition, nearly 2,000 new domains contained the keyword “Amazon” that emerged last month. Subsequently, researchers discovered that 10% of these newly discovered domains appeared suspicious or malicious.
In the days leading up to Amazon Prime Day last year, there were over 2,000 new domains affiliated with Amazon that researchers discovered, and they themed a staggering 80% to be hostile.
Threat actors will surely infect Amazon Prime users if they unknowingly get baited by a phishing email.
Researchers noted that Amazon users, especially on Prime days, will be injected with malware if they access several phishing emails that will circulate. Moreover, any recipient who clicks on the attached file will discover their computer infected with the virus.
The phishing emails could also take various forms, such as pending approval payments or non-payment orders. These transactions will likely appear authentic since the threat actors can copy the template of a legitimate email form of the shopping platform.
Fortunately, cybersecurity researchers indicated the strategies to mitigate the chances of getting infected by malware through phishing attacks. According to the experts, users should check for email typos since its operators’ are likely to design top-level domains to deceive users through visuals.
Additionally, do not purchase anything from a site that does not have SSL encryption. Include a strong Amazon password for the account, and do not share any sensitive information with the online retailer to mitigate the chances of getting infected.
