Holidays no time to take ‘phishing’ trip

Online shopping scams could become a major security threat in the weeks leading up to Christmas as shoppers eagerly type in credit card numbers, click on discount coupons and participate in online promotions, security experts worry.

Instead of money-saving deals, e-mailed coupons could lead recipients into so-called phishing schemes, in which the computer user is redirected to a copycat website created for the purpose of stealing credit card information, passwords and other financial data, IBM Corp. security executive Christopher Rouland warned.

IBM is urging online shoppers not to click on links within e-mails that appear to come from an online retailer. Instead, open a new Web browser, go to the retailer’s website, navigate to special coupons or promotions and see if it’s there.

Brian Trombley, a product manager for computer security firm McAfee Inc., said holiday phishing scams are shaping up to be an “extraordinary problem” this season. “The scammers are getting more and more sophisticated. They’re using better English, they’re getting better at copying real sites and making their site look like the real thing.”