You might remember CYREN's previous Cyber-Grinch and Cyber-Scrooge blog article from 2014 …

Tis the time of the year when this article's content becomes relevant again!

In 2015, the cyber-criminals, alias Cyber-Grinch and Cyber-Scrooge are active and creative in their goal of making money:

Great Christmas Gift Ideas and Special Offers

Have you already received a letter from the 'North Pole' this year? It's that time of the year when you might be wondering what to give to your wife or children. Don't worry, 'North Pole' can help: How about 'an official letter from Santa' for your child? Delivery before Christmas is guaranteed, too.

Another spam campaign guarantees special offers and great prices for Michael Kors bags:

This 'Christmas Bonanza' email promises you can get an iPhone 6 Plus for free:

Be aware of spam campaigns like these and please, stay safe over the holidays.

Christmas Time is Expensive - Not enough Money?

Although Christmas is quite close, there may still be enough time to earn some money for any outstanding Christmas gifts... Do you think '32,580 Euro till Christmas' - as promised by a German mailing, sent in the name of a Mr. 'Reiner Massenbach' - can be a start? It's an easy job and you don't even need to build a team for it. Also Mr. Massenbach promises that this isn't just a trick or joke…

If this isn't enough money, you can easily become the 'Christmas Winner' of 950.000 USD in this fake campaign in the name of Facebook:

Be aware of job offer and other 'winning' notification spam emails like this, they are sent every year!

Online Shopping - Can be Dangerous at Christmas Time

A malicious campaign in the name of 'ebay' promises 'early access' to their pre-Christmas sale. Once you click on the contained link you are led to malware:

Also, shopping for gifts at Amazon? Watch out for fake emails pretending to be from Amazon telling you your order is delayed because the wrong delivery information has been entered. These criminals want you to click on the link and enter your personal contact and credit card information.

Diet Spam at its Best: Lose Christmas Fat already before Christmas

Over the whole year the CYREN research team detects diet spam. But at this time of the year you can easily shed your Christmas pounds in time, for example by using 'VIP-Shape', promoted in a German diet spam campaign:

Holiday or Year-End News Headlines

Last but not least, this is the season to get trapped by an email that looks like it's coming from a friend or major news outlet. You click on the fake link that says 'CNN Announces the 2015 Person of the Year' and you've got malware!

The CYREN team wishes you and your family happy holidays - stay safe!

Read more about trends in Internet threats to stay ahead of any scams, now or in the future - check outCYREN's quarterly Internet Threats Trend Report

Cyren Ltd. issued this content on 2015-12-18 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 2015-12-18 10:41:56 UTC

Original Document: http://blog.cyren.com/articles/Scams-of-Christmas-Past-Present-Future-2015.html