Fake seasonal online stores on the rise – LMT data shows record cyber threats

According to LMT data, in June alone the company's cybersecurity solution prevented more than 262 million threats originating from over 3.1 million malicious websites. The most common threat type was phishing, with over 167 million instances blocked.

Among these, fake online stores and fraudulent advertisements that exploit seasonal demand are becoming increasingly frequent. Jānis Matēvičs, head of LMT Cybersecurity Maintenance, notes that scammers are increasingly using artificial intelligence to quickly create visually convincing e-commerce sites and ads that are difficult to distinguish from legitimate stores. These sites lure customers with extremely low prices and limited-time offers, urging them to act hastily. In reality, their goal is to obtain shoppers' bank card details and other sensitive information.

In addition to phishing, LMT's network recorded 156 million malware threats in June. Meanwhile, the number of blacklist threats has nearly tripled since April, rising from 52.5 million to 138.6 million in June. These threats involve malicious domains, IP addresses, and other resources that malware attempts to exploit to infect users' devices.

To help identify AI-generated scam sites, experts advise looking for several signs: prices that are too good to be true and created urgency (e.g., "only today," "last items") are common red flags. Images generated or processed by AI may appear unnaturally smooth, with abnormal lighting effects. Content often lacks specificity or repeats across the site. Before making a purchase, it is recommended to check whether the store provides real company details, contact information, and reviews; if such information is missing or suspicious, it is best to avoid the purchase.