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NEWS FROM THE LAB - Tuesday, January 7, 2014
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'Tis the Season of the Canada Goose Posted by SecResponse @ 17:01 GMT

Scammers are getting creative. Since online pharmacies, fake watches and selling generic goods are becoming commonplace, they are now switching to peddling seasonal products. Starting around last September, registrations of websites selling suspicious Canada Goose jackets have begun sprouting like mushrooms. People living near the poles have a love affair with this brand. They are one of the manufacturers of down jackets that make someone's winter experience a little warmer. As such, they have a loyal following. Apparently, the scammers are now aware of this.

Recently, advertisements for these sites have appeared in Facebook for users in Finland. This is pretty sad because considering the prices for Canada Goose jackets here in Finland, this can really cause someone's eyes to pop.

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Upon clicking the ads, one ends up in a normal-looking shopping site. Complete with all the online shopping bells and whistles.

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The ads have some mixed comments, from people saying that this is too good to be true, to those who almost bought them.

Now why do we think this site smells foul?
- Website has only 1 year validity
- Registrant is not local to the country/continent it's selling to (currently registered in China)
- Website is selling goods at 50-70% discount (Have you ever seen Canada Goose at these prices?)
- Website has no encryption when user is filling in personal information
- The store/site is not an official Canada Goose retailer according to Canada Goose's online retailer search tool:

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Oakley was also victimized by this scamming method last year and they took strong measures by seizing sites down and giving visitors some information on it:

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Kudos to Oakley for being so vigilant against this!

Although these reputable brands are taking strong measures to take down these fake sites, it's possible that a potential buyer may stumble unto them before the actual brand owners do. As such, we can't emphasize it strongly enough, please be extra careful when shopping online. Scam sites are sprouting everywhere and are selling anything that anyone can possibly want. If this is the first time you have heard of the website, you are unsure of its reputation, and the offers are very tempting, it would be best not to shop there. There is no certainty that you will get the right product, or even anything at all in return.

F-Secure Users with their browsing protection enabled are protected from these suspect sites.

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Post by — Karmina and Christine