E-crime will boost on Christmas

The IT security vendor community warned consumers and corporate web surfers today about the fact that internet criminals are likely to double their efforts during Christmas. 

A five-point plan was released by to help users avoid scams, which includes ensuring protection of all the systems with the most recent patches.User should also be aware of e-cards which could have links to malicious sites; of special offers, which could tempt users to disclosing their credit card details; attachments and video content, which could serve as a way of infecting machines with malware by stealth, said Websense.

At the same time network security vendor Trend Micro, warned of another e-crime tactic used at Christmas time, which is sending messages as if from popular courier companies with a malware attachment that can look as an invoice form. Another way of tempting consumers could be sending them emails telling them to open and print a receipt, which at first thought could seem like an email from their e-commerce provider, but actually is a malware, said Trend.

Finally, IBM's X-Force security research team warned companies to be cautious about allowing unauthorized USB devices to connect to their corporate network. Moreover the firm said that past researches have shown that some of the toys distributed at this time could also be loaded with malware."