Cybercriminals Target Americans Planning Summer Vacations to Mexico and Other Destinations
Summary
The findings show that popular summer destinations in Mexico, Europe – and, surprisingly, Canmore, Canada – generate the riskiest search results when people are hunting for vacation deals online. Taking advantage of the high search volumes for accommodation and deals in these popular destinations, cybercriminals drive unsuspecting users to potentially malicious websites that can be used to install malware and steal personal information or passwords. Unfortunately, McAfee’s survey of 1,000 Americans found that nearly one-third of consumers (31%) are leaving the door open to fraud because they do not check the authenticity of a website before booking a trip online. Unfortunately, risky bargain shopping behavior can come at a high cost with approximately 30% of travel-related scam victims reported that they lost between $1,000 and $3,000 as a result of the fraudulent activity. The majority of survey respondents (80%) shared that they worry about having their identity stolen during the research and booking process or while traveling abroad for summer vacations.