Scammers ready to exploit the Olympics as fans search online for merchandise and content

Jul 24, 2024, 10:41 PM | Updated: 10:49 pm

SALT LAKE CITY — Paris is, as you know, in a different time zone. It’s eight hours ahead of Salt Lake City. So, programming note: most of the Olympics coverage you’ll be watching here on KSL in the coming weeks will have already happened.

So, long before the events are broadcast here on television or even streamed on NBC’s Peacock app, certainly clips of the major moments will circulate online. You might even receive some as email attachments. Beware, cybersecurity experts warn.

“It’s a ripe opportunity for scammers,” said Netwrix’s Adam Laub.

Those email attachments can be laced with malware just waiting for you to open so it can infect your computer or mobile device. Those email links could take you to websites that are designed to steal your personal information.

And it’s not just people looking for content that should be on guard. Your social media feed is likely to be stuffed to the brim with all sorts of Olympics merch for sale. The Federal Trade Commission calls social media a “golden goose for scammers.

The FTC says “one in four people reported losing money to fraud since 2021 said it started on social media.” And the most frequently reported fraud loss is “from people who tried to buy something marketed on social media, coming in at a whopping 44% of all social media fraud loss reports.”

“Just making sure that the things you’re doing, procuring, etc., online are done so in a safe way as possible,” advised Laub.

To that end, experts say stick to shopping on official websites. And use a credit card. That gives you the flexibility of trying to dispute charges if you don’t get the merchandise that you bought.

And, self-serving as this may sound with KSL being Utah’s “official” home of the 2024 Summer Olympics, the best way to avoid malware is to stream the games via official broadcasters.

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Scammers ready to exploit the Olympics as fans search online for merchandise and content