CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Cybercriminals have been using phishing attacks, malware and ransomware to profit from unsuspecting victims for more than a decade.
October is cybersecurity awareness month, a time when businesses and companies across the U.S. recognize and address possible cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
Katie Galan of the Better Business Bureau describes how the problem is affecting consumers.
"So it is Cyber Security Month and it's really important for consumers to be aware of all the ways scammers try to take advantage of us," Galan said. "Now more than ever mind, COVID-19 kind of helps with that and it's a trend that all will continue as we go into the holiday season.
"There are a few things we want people to look out for unsolicited links that they may receive. Discuss across-the-board, maybe you got it through a text message or email and it's someone that you don't know, we always advise you don't click on those links."
Galan also described how consumers can keep themselves from falling victim to cybercriminals?
"The best things to do is to not click on those links," she said. "Ads pop up which is what scammers do.
"If you're not making settings on your social media private and public, scammers Awww what you're looking at and targets adds to you. It may look like it's coming from a legitimate company but it's not. The best thing to do is don't click on the ad that popped up for you and instead go to the company's website directly to see if the deal is still there and that's the best thing to do."
If you have a question or concern about a particular business, product or scam, check out the Better Business Bureau's webpage here.
