7 Halloween Tricks You Shouldn`t Be Scared Of

Ghosts, goblins and vampires aren`t the only creepy things that come out on Halloween. This day is also notable for other kinds of creeps ” the frightening fraudster, the spooky spammer and the horrible hacker. Let`s not forget that it`s a busy shopping day! We expect a wave of opportunistic scams to hit your inboxes and try to disrupt your whole online experience.

Don`t let scammers mistreat you. Remember these Bitdefender tips and look out for:

1. Unsolicited e-mails claiming to deliver Halloween-related jokes, allegedly hilarious PowerPoint documents or videos. These messages can easily disseminate malware into an unprotected system or lure users to infected websites.

2. Automatically generated tweets or Facebook posts advertising funny pictures or videos that use shortened URLs. One click and users can end up infected and their devices turned into zombies.

3. Making a living out of the”¦dead! It`s no joke, relatives of those who passed away should be on the lookout for credit card accounts opened in the names of the deceased.

4. Messages from viral villains taking advantage of the Ebola virus to trick people who are looking to donate money for the victims or to charities fighting the disease.

5. Retailers of terror: bogus costume shops or sites impersonating reputable resellers offering huge discounts for counterfeit merchandise or “invisible items” that never get shipped. Fake offers can also lead to survey scams asking for account credentials or sensitive banking information.

 

6. Last-minute event tickets sold by dishonest sellers who send you fake tickets, or don`t send them at all! Always check the site`s reputation before handing over the money.

7. Halloween-themed malicious mobile apps. They can help you prank your friends, collect some “skulls” just for fun or simply install a nice wallpaper for your phone. But some apps can also steal your private info, secretly download spying software or give hackers control of your device. Read the permissions carefully before installing one!

And remember, Bitdefender is impossible to scare! Since 2001, we`ve seen it all: annoying frankenspam, devious skeletrojans and vampviruses of all sorts. Scare cyberthreats off, stay safe with Bitdefender!