Hurray, Hurray...it's Cyber Monday

Today is Cyber Monday and:

Cyber Monday clicks in with record sales

Cyber Monday rocked while mobile sales rolled.

The day widely regarded as the Super Bowl of online sales ca-chinged its way to a record day for retailers, including Walmart, and marked a shift in shopping preferences as smartphones and tablets drove nearly a third of traffic — and for some retailers, more than half.

The numbers are mind-boggling. As of 6 p.m. Eastern time, overall sales were up 17.5% on Cyber Monday compared with last year, says IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark. Another e-commerce research company, Custora Pulse, found online sales up almost 19%. The numbers may shift even higher as people continue to shop through the evening.

This year, "Cyber Monday is well on its way to being the biggest online shopping day in history," says Custora CEO Corey Pierson.

Walmart.com expects to register its biggest Cyber Monday yet, coming off a record Black Friday weekend online. Heading into the afternoon Monday, the website had already sold out of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles, which weren't even discounted. Significant savings on TVs and tablets also encouraged shopping, says Joel Anderson, CEO of Walmart.com.

"There's no way ... that it won't finish as our biggest Cyber Monday ever," he says.

Anderson expects that more than half of Monday's online traffic will have come from mobile devices. On Black Friday, mobile accounted for 55% of traffic to Walmart.com.

"I think 2013 will be remembered as the year online went mobile," Anderson says.

Overall, 29.4% of online traffic was mobile, according to data from IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark

That's up 61% from last year. Shoppers used smartphones to browse but were more likely to make purchases on a tablet, the data show.

And 2013 is the year the term "Cyber Monday" got a face-lift. Retailers from Target to Sears are fast evolving Cyber Monday into something more akin to Cyber Week, as online deals stretch well beyond Monday.

"You'll see retailers get incrementally more aggressive with promotions as the week goes on," says Brian Sozzi, CEO at Belus Capital Advisors.

As of 6 p.m. ET, sales on Amazon were up 44.3% over last year, while sales at eBay were up 32.1%, according to ChannelAdvisor, which tracks third-party sellers on eBay and Amazon. The online marketplaces are doing well in part because shoppers are heading to those sites to find popular products that are selling out at regular retailers, says Scot Wingo, CEO of ChannelAdvisor.

Flash-sale site Rue La La started Cyber Monday deals on Sunday with a "Cyberthon" that drew more than 350,000 people to the site. The sale promoted as much as 80% off on more than 150 brands. On Monday, sales of Cole Haan and Pandora Jewelry merchandise were strongest, CEO Steve Davis says.

SOURCE: USA TODAY

About Shopping & Getting Hacked

Christmas shoppers are carrying more mobile devices this year then the ones before, which means they're more likely to fall victim to Cybercriminals. But are they aware ?

"The number one thing you can do, and it's a real simple thing to do, is add a password to your phone. It will help protect the data that you have on there," advises Symantec's Kevin Haley.

The bigger risk is getting hacked because you're using the "wrong" or unknown WiFi. Simply, just don't do anything very important while on public WiFi.


"It's always possible that somebody in a free WiFi setting could be listening in," Haley notes.

Wade Baker

Cybertrust expert Wade Baker says the safest thing to do is just shut off the WiFi and use your own plan for Internet access.

"If you are on a public network, make sure it's a legitimate one, make sure it is the one offered by Starbucks, or the actual airport, rather than some guy sitting in the corner," Baker warns.

And if you insist on buying online from your mobile device, only enter personal information when there's an "S", for secured" at the end of the "HTTP".

IMPORTANT HOLIDAYS MESSAGE ! Cyber Fraud: Holiday Shopping Tips 2013

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (Also: IC3) gave out a communication today about Safe Shopping in front of the Holiday Christmas Season, especially about fraud online Shopping, so please be aware WHERE, FROM WHO & WHAT you want to buy ONLINE !

SOME IMPORTANT TIPS

The FBI reminds holiday shoppers to beware of cyber criminals who are out to steal money and personal information. Scammers use many techniques to defraud consumers, from phishing e-mails offering too good to be true deals on brand-name merchandise to offering quick cash to victims who will re-ship packages to additional destinations. Previously reported scams are still being executed today.

While monitoring credit reports on an annual basis and reviewing account statements each month is always a good idea, consumers should keep a particularly watchful eye on their personal credit information at this time of year. Scrutinizing credit card bills for any fraudulent activity can help to minimize victims’ losses. Unrecognizable charges listed on a credit card statement are often the first time consumers realize their personally identifiable information has been stolen.

Bank transactions and correspondence from financial institutions should also be closely reviewed. Bank accounts can often serve as a target for criminals to initiate account takeovers or commit identity theft by creating new accounts in the victims’ name. Consumers should never click on a link embedded in an e-mail from their bank, but rather open a new webpage and manually enter the URL (web address), because phishing scams often start with phony e-mails that feature the bank’s name and logo.

When shopping online, make sure to use reputable sites. Often consumers are shown specials on the web, or even in e-mail offers, that look too good to be true. These sites are used to capture personally identifiable information, including credit card numbers, addresses and phone numbers to make fraudulent transactions. It’s best to shop on sites with which you are familiar and that have an established reputation as trusted online retailers, according to the MRC, a nonprofit that supports and promotes operational excellence for fraud, payments and risk professionals within eCommerce (LINK).

If you look for an item or company name through a search engine site, scrutinize the results listed before going to a website. Do not automatically click on the first result, even if it looks identical or similar to the desired result. Many fraudsters go to extreme lengths to have their own website appear ahead of a legitimate company on popular search engines. Their website may be a mirrored version of a popular website, but with a slightly different URL !!!

Purchases made on these sites could result in one or more of the following consequences: 

• Never receiving the item.
• Having your credit card details stolen.
• Downloading malware/computer viruses to your CPU. 

Before clicking on a result in a search engine, inspect the URL of the destination website. Look for any misspellings or extra characters such as a period or comma as these are indicative of fraud. When taken to the payment page of a website, again verify the URL and ensure it is secure by starting with “HTTPS,” not just “HTTP.”

Here are some additional tips you can use to avoid becoming a victim of cyber fraud:

• Do not respond to unsolicited (spam) e-mail.
• Do not click on links contained within an unsolicited e-mail. (EXAMPLE)
• Be cautious of e-mail claiming to contain pictures in attached files; the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders. Scan the attachments for viruses if possible.
• Avoid filling out forms contained in e-mail messages that ask for personal information.
• Always compare the link in the e-mail to the link you are actually directed to and determine if they match and will lead you to a legitimate site.
• Log on directly to the official website for the business identified in the e-mail instead of “linking” to it from an unsolicited e-mail. If the e-mail appears to be from your bank, credit card issuer, or other company you deal with frequently, your statements or official correspondence from the business will provide the proper contact information.
• Contact the actual business that supposedly sent the e-mail to verify that the e-mail is genuine.
• If you are requested to act quickly or there is an emergency that requires your attention, it may be a scam. Fraudsters create a sense of urgency to get you to act quickly.
• Remember if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Finally, check these additional sources to become even more informed on safe online shopping. Previous Holiday Shopping Tips public service announcements can be viewed on IC3.gov at the following links:

1. IC3 Announcement 2012
2. IC3 Announcement 2011
3. IC3 Announcement 2010
4. US-CERT posted a Holiday Season Phishing Scams and Malware Campaigns release on November 19th, 2013, reminding consumers to stay aware of seasonal scams. The entire alert can be viewed here.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS & BE AWARE. 

Season Greetings from here. :-)

Avoid These Holiday Online Scams