Don’t let the Grinch or online scammers steal your Christmas. Our expert can help with your stories about a worry-free holiday

Christmas is here! And with the hustle and bustle of shopping and scouring the internet for that perfect gift or deal, odds are there are people lurking in the dark corners hoping to stuff their stockings with scams if you’re not too careful.

At Thanksgiving, when the official start to the shopping season began – the experts from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business were front and center answering media calls and doing interviews about this very topic

Scott Shackelford, a professor at Indiana University specializing in cyber security, said there are some red flags to be on the lookout for while shopping online.

“There’s some easy ones to spot right off the bat, including if on the URL,” said Schackelford. “If you see it just as HTTP and not HTTPS. That S stands for secure, which means your information is encrypted when you use that site.”

Shackelford also said to be on the lookout for funny wordplay involved on the website. Maniscalo says most of these fake websites originate from outside the country.

“English is not their native tongue, so they will a lot of times have misspellings, or say things in kind of an awkward way, not how we would say it, or how we would print it out there,” said Maniscalo.

There is also the problem of what Shackelford calls Grinch Bots. These are automated bots that monitor major retail sites to see what items are the hottest and buy them out as soon as they are restocked.

“There’s actually been bills that have been proposed in Congress to deal with example of that phenomenon. But of course, they’re not enacted yet, so it’s still up to consumers,” said Shackelford. November 25 – Fox News

It’s going to be a busy holiday shopping season – and if you’re a journalist looking to cover this important top, then let us help.

Scott Shackelford is an Assistant Professor of Business Law and Ethics at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. He’s an expert in the field of cybersecurity law and policy. Scott is available to speak with media about this subject – simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.