Cybercriminals target last-minute holiday shoppers with fake online stores

Are you shopping for those last-minute gifts? As time runs out many of us will go online to search for items that hopefully will arrive before Christmas, and criminals are looking to take advantage of this.

"We have noticed that a huge increase in the activity for cybercriminals were taking advantage of in general holiday shoppers," said Iskander Sanchez-Rola, Director of Innovation at online security company Gen.

He added that in the last few weeks, they have identified at least 80,000 fake online shops, and the number is growing by a thousand a day.

Sometimes you might get an email that looks like it's from a legitimate store, but don't just click on a link. Type it in yourself and make sure the website address is spelled correctly.

"And these web counterfeit websites normally are made up to look and feel like legitimate stores, and sometimes they tend to include like similar Urls to confuse the shoppers... which can be very confusing right like you are not aware of what is written up there. So you have to verify. Every single letter is correct," said Sanchez-Rola.

He said another thing to look for is how these stores want to get paid and to steer clear of websites that accept uncommon payment methods. Never wire money directly or use gift cards. And never use a debit card.

"In a debit card, you are using your money directly, in a credit card. You are not using your money. It's much easier to dispute. You have many more security when you are buying things with a credit card. So definitely, you are buying online. Leave your debit card on the table and start paying with your credit card," said Sanchez-Rola.

If you go to an online store and the deals appear too good to be true, they usually are. Check these websites carefully to make sure you don't get scammed for the holidays.