In 2006, Cyber Monday was only the 12th largest shopping day of the year for retailers. In 2010 it rose to become the No. 1 biggest shopping day, topping over $1 billion in sales. The 2011 Cyber Monday shopping day is expected to top $1.2 billion in sales, making it a big target for cyber crime and identity theft. And by mid-December of this year, consumers had already spent $25 billion shopping online, a 15 percent increase over 2010.
“Not everyone shopping for holiday gifts this year will be on a secure network,” says Alex Tishler, VP of VPN4ALL, “especially given the rising number of people who shop through their mobile devices on public Wi-Fi networks.”
Many in the retail industry expect that over 60 million users will shop on their mobile phone on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
“Identify theft isn’t just about losing a wallet or document,” says Tishler. “Criminals can take valuable information without a person ever realizing it’s gone until it’s too late, of course.” According to national statistics, over 71 percent of fraud happens within a week of stealing a victim’s personal data, leaving little time for consumers to become aware they are a victim of cyber crime and take precautionary actions.
Additionally, consumers are not often as protected from fraud as they may think. Credit card companies limit one’s liability for fraud to $50. However, banks that issue debit cards can limit one’s liability to $500 for each case involving fraud.
VPN4ALL offers online and mobile VPN solutions that encrypt a user’s data through any type of Internet connection, providing anonymity, privacy and security while shopping, checking email or going over bank statements online.
For more information about securing online protection this holiday season, visit http://www.vpn4all.com. To arrange an interview with VPN4ALL’s VP, Alex Tishler, contact media consultant, Ryan Newhouse, at press@vpn4all.com or (718) 407-0002.
About VPN4ALL
VPN4ALL is a no-hardware-
