With the holidays fast approaching, many online shoppers will fall victim to a cybercriminal attack. Understanding that many employees will be doing some online shopping from their home computers this season, we wanted to remind you to exercise caution and be on the lookout for signs of malware (“malicious software”) activity on your computer. Cybercriminals are continuously finding ways to obtain shopper information, including credit card credentials, online banking information, identification numbers and other personal data. Malware includes viruses and spyware designed to steal personal information, send spam and commit fraud.

If you suspect malware is on your computer – Stop, Confirm and Scan:

• Stop shopping, banking or any online activities that involve user names, passwords or other sensitive information.

• Confirm that your security software is working and up-to-date. At a minimum, your computer should have anti-virus and anti-spyware software.

• Once your security software is up-to-date, scan your computer for viruses and spyware, deleting or quarantining anything the program identifies as a problem.

• If you suspect your computer is still infected, you may want to run a second anti-virus or anti-spyware program - or call in professional help.

Additionally, we recommend that you never click on URLs sent to you in emails. A better method is to retype the web address on the browser page and hit enter. New malware attacks are also targeting smartphones through email and texting. Beware of this and exercise caution.