SAN JOSE, CALIF. - Going online instead of going to the mall can be a convenient and cheaper way to get the holiday shopping done. But it can have a downside.
Cybercriminals tend to come out in force around peak shopping times. Unless they guard against the threat, online shoppers run the risk of having their credit card and bank account numbers stolen without even knowing what's happened.
"The peak shopping period is an ideal time for criminals to target [consumers] for ... attacks," said Symantec's Vincent Weafer, a vice president in the security company's research group.
Some security experts say the time to be on guard is now. In the month before Thanksgiving week last year, security company PC Tools observed a steady rise in the amount of malware intercepted by computers running its security softwareNews 1 year ago
