Computer criminals have managed to steal a very large amount of money from Groupon customers after the several large data breaches which were reported by the popular technology corporations.
Groupon Customers Affected By Various Data Breaches
A lot of Groupon customers have reported that fraudulent transactions made from their bank accounts. The complaints were posted on social media media and other channels which has led to a response from Groupon. According to the company they were not breached or hacked in any way. The most probable scenario is that the hackers obtained the sensitive information about the customers payment cards and banking services through the various large-scale technology companies breaches which we reported in the last few weeks.
According to the reported information expensive orders have been placed, one particular case states an online order for 2420 Pounds. The products and services include various holiday packages, iPhones, Playstation 4 consoles and other related high-value gifts.
Groupon has stated that all confirmed fraudulent activity will be blocked and that the victims will have their money refunded. The popular service has about 60 million subscribers and has not spotted a breach in their website or mobile app. Groupon has a dedicated team that deals with investigating customer issues when they are reported.
How To Protect Yourself From Groupon Financial Abuse
Popular steps to protect yourself from such incidents include the ones that are part of a good security policy. A list of some of the basics include the following:
- Do not use the same password on two online sites. This will prevent the criminals from abusing the harvested account credentials from a leak or a breach.
- Always apply the latest operating system and application updates to prevent any exploits or bugs which might result in information extraction.
- Do not open emails, attachments or links from unknown senders or pages.
- Regularly check your banks and emails for any suspicious activity or notifications.
- Use a two-factor authentication option if available
