Phishing is essentially an online con game, and phishers are nothing more con artists and identity thieves. They use spam, malicious websites, email messages, instant messages, and even phone calls to trick people into divulging sensitive information.

Since phishing scams are designed to appear as if they come from reliable sources, it is smart to know the difference between real and fraudulent messages and how to spot some of the clues that a message may be a scam.

The growth in the popularity of online shopping websites has brought an increase in the activities of cyber criminals that are targeting unwary consumers. Online purchase scams can expose your identity and even drain your wallet. Last year, 8% of consumers said they were victims of identity theft and 43% said their identity theft happened during the holiday season. If you’re going to get the best out of your online shopping activities, without falling prey to criminals and Internet scams, you’ll need to take a few precautions.