Decoy Words and Love Letters: How Scammers Trick Americans on Valentine's Day

February is the time of year when cyber scammers like to play Cupid, aiming their “arrows” at potential victims, writes USA Today.

Photo: Shutterstock

Security company Check Point Research says that over the past few years, scammers have often used the word "Valentine" in February as bait to target unsuspecting romantics. It is this word in the title that often leads people to malicious sites.

In 2018 and 2019, the use of the word "Valentine" on malicious websites jumped more than 200% compared to previous months in the same years.

Cybercriminals also love the word “chocolate.” In 2018, they used the word almost 500% more often as bait in February than in other months of the year. But their affection for him decreased in February 2019, increasing by only 39% compared to other months.

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Why cybercriminals love Valentine's Day so much

This is an ideal cover for fraudulent schemes. The criminal can disguise his tricks, such as tricking you into downloading his malware, by hiding among a variety of genuine Valentine's Day websites. According to Check Point Research, in the first week of February alone, people around the world visited more than 10 domains containing the word “Valentine.”

In 2019, email scams in the lead-up to Valentine's Day were widespread, with users receiving emails with subject lines along the lines of "This is my love letter to you."

Such schemes were also used in 2020. They usually use the subject line: “I'm looking at your profile and I really like it... And here are my best photos...”

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Protect yourself from fraud

Here's how to avoid fraudulent lures before the holiday:

• Make sure you are placing your order on a legitimate website. Search online retailers and click on search results instead of following sponsored links in emails.
• Do your own research before moving on to “special” offers that sound too good to be true. “The 80% discount on a new iPad is usually not reliable or trustworthy,” Check Point Research notes.
• Watch for attempts to fool you with similar domains.
• In addition, spelling errors are common in fraudulent mailings, emails and websites.

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