The holidays are a wonderful time of year…for criminals. Beware of these scams that are prevalent during the holiday season.

Dangerous Downloads

While the occasional dancing elf, Hanukkah Jingle or winter screensaver may be nice, beware of what you click on. May viruses can be spread through email and infected web links. What's worse, some holiday-themed downloads can leave you vulnerable to identity theft and fraudulent activity. Always be extremely careful about what you click on, install or download from the Internet.

Evil e-cards

People love to send e-cards, especially during the holiday season. These can deliver more than just the holiday spirit. Some contain destructive viruses cleverly disguised in holiday cheer. As soon as the recipient opens the e-card or a link contained within it — often appearing to come from a friend or family member — a virus could be unleashed into their computer.

Auction Scams

Every holiday season it seems that there is one hot item that all the kids want. Desperate parents many turn to the internet to find the "it" gift just in time for Christmas. Beware of websites that advertise deals too good to be true. It may sound tempting, but often the gift never arrives and parents are left holding an empty bag. They may also become victims of identity theft by the unscrupulous merchants. To avoid gift scams, only shop at retailers you know and trust, go directly to their Web sites rather than responding to an email or pop-up advertisement, and use a credit card rather than debit card or other form of payment. With a credit card, you're less likely to have to pay for fraudulent charges.

Holiday Hackers

With the explosion of online holiday shopping in recent years, more and more people are falling victim to hackers who send scam emails disguised as notices from well-known companies. The email usually asks the recipient for their account information in order to confirm an order or shipping address. Once the account details are provided, hackers are free do whatever they want with it, often selling the information to others for a large profit.

How to avoid being a victim

Be careful of where you go and what you click on. Only use credible online retailers. Check the reputation of an online vendor by visiting http://www.bizrate.com/ or http://www.epinions.com.

For more information on computer security visit us at www.PriorityTechSolutions.com