In a News 4 consumer‑oriented segment, reporter Van Tieu interviews McAfee cybersecurity expert Robert Siciliano and Nevada Deputy Attorney General Laura Tucker to warn shoppers about the surge of holiday‑season scams. The report outlines common fraud tactics such as spoofed e‑commerce sites, phishing emails, malicious ads masquerading as shipping notifications, and spyware‑laden links. It offers concrete protection steps: manually type URLs, verify HTTPS, and keep antivirus/anti‑spyware/anti‑phishing tools active. Tucker emphasizes that credit cards provide the strongest liability protection (up to $50) compared with debit or cash, and cautions about hidden fees that erode the value of prepaid cards. The segment concludes that awareness and diligent security practices can keep holiday shopping safe.
Chapters
Shopping season officially kicks off later this week, and scam artists will be working overtime. News 4's Van Tu has this On Your Side report on how to protect yourself while you check off your Christmas shopping list.
'Tis the season of giving, and for scammers, the season of taking.
So bad guys have been ramping up all year long waiting for this moment.
McAfee cybersecurity expert Robert Siciliano says some of the biggest scams are are found online. According to the Holiday Consumer Spending Survey, 56% of shoppers will buy online. Links infected with spyware can lurk in your email and on ads disguised as shipping notifications or amazing deals. They could even lead you to phony websites, a growing problem for online shoppers.
A spoofed website, which generally will look like the legitimate e-tailer's website but is in fact fake, designed to lure you to enter your credentials or your credit card information.
Well, some advice: never click the links. Instead, type in the web address yourself and double-check your spelling. And a quick way to make sure you're on a secure site: go to the address bar. Instead of HTTP, look for HTTPS. The S stands for secure.
You know, and then, you know, having the necessary, you know, protections in place— like I said, antivirus, anti-spyware, anti-phishing— that's designed to watch your back, to protect you.
For keeping your money safe both online and in stores, Nevada Deputy Attorney General Laura Tucker says credit cards are the most protected form of payment, more so than debit cards or cash.
If there has been some sort of data breach, if someone has made a purchase in your name, you can— you may only be liable for up to $50 of that purchase, if at all.
Tucker also warns of hidden fees on prepaid cards, which can chip away at its value with activation fees, charges to check your balance, or even making transactions.
You end up with a $50 card and you could end up maybe having only $37 of a usable balance on it in the end.
Tucker and Siciliano say scammers are smart and holiday stress can leave people vulnerable, but as long as you're engaged in the security of your information and your, of your devices, as long as you're aware of this stuff, you're much less likely to become a victim. Knowledge definitely is power when it comes to this stuff.
So paying attention to the fine print and where your money is going could save your holiday from being ruined by people on Santa's naughty list. Van Tieu, News 4, on your side.
