Holiday Scams | Breaking Cybersecurity News | The Hacker News

Social networking sites and search engines are expected to face increased cybercriminal activity this holiday season. However, the FBI is also warning consumers about two other significant threats: "smishing" and "vishing" scams. Both smishing and vishing are forms of phishing. Smishing involves using SMS texts to initiate scams, while vishing uses automated phone calls. These scams have been reported since at least 2006. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) recently issued an advisory warning that these scams will be prevalent during the holiday season. In these attacks, users receive a text message or automated phone call stating there is a problem with their bank account. They are then given a phone number to call or a website to log onto to provide account credentials to resolve the issue. "While most cyberscams target your computer, smishing and vishing scams target your mobile phone, and they're becoming a growing threat as more American...