Cyber Safety Sunday is a day of action and awareness for holiday shoppers to educate themselves and prepare to shop safely and confidently online. With scammers targeting a third of holiday online shoppers, Norton created Cyber Safety Sunday to help consumers shop smart, keep their information safe, and avoid scammers from stealing more than just holiday cheer. As cybercriminals ramp up their efforts targeting shoppers with phishing scams, fake websites, and fraudulent deals, this special day focuses on giving people the tools and knowledge to protect themselves and their loved ones during the holidays and beyond. Cyber Safety Sunday takes place annually the Sunday before Cyber Monday.
*Disclaimer: This content is published in paid partnership with Norton.
History of Cyber Safety Sunday
While online shopping is fun and convenient, the recent rise in cyberattacks has made shoppers feel less merry and more wary about their online safety.
In response to increasing online shopping risks, Norton introduced Cyber Safety Sunday to take place every Sunday after Thanksgiving as an annual day of action and awareness for people to prepare themselves to confidently shop online by learning about current online scams and securing their devices in protection against scammers and cybercriminals during the holiday shopping season.
The rise of online shopping in the 1990s brought convenience to consumers but also introduced new security risks. Early on, phishing scams began targeting popular platforms like eBay and PayPal. As online transactions grew, so did threats like malware, data breaches, and identity theft, prompting the introduction of security measures such as SSL encryption and two-factor authentication (2FA).
The early 2000s brought about a rapid rise in e-commerce businesses and new risks to consumers. By 2008, fake e-commerce websites were being created by cybercriminals to steal consumers’ credit card information.
As online threats evolved, so did consumer awareness around the risks of online shopping. Major incidents like the 2013 Target data breach served as a wake-up call and drove the development of new standards, ensuring that retailers securely handle credit card information while prompting consumers to be more cautious with their personal data.
The introduction of EMV chip cards in the U.S. in 2015 helped reduce physical card fraud but also pushed cybercriminals to focus more on online shopping scams. By 2017, retailers began widely adopting two-factor authentication (2FA), adding a second layer of security to consumer accounts.
As e-commerce surged during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, an increase in cybercrime targeting consumers seeking essential items followed suit. Now, people are encouraged to look for signs of secure websites, avoid clicking on suspicious links, use strong, unique passwords, and enable security features and software protections.
To address these ongoing and evolving risks, Norton introduced Cyber Safety Sunday in 2023, a day dedicated for consumers to educate themselves on the latest scams and take proactive steps to protect themselves from cyberattacks during their holiday shopping. Cyber Safety Sunday helps raise awareness during peak shopping periods, reminding users to stay vigilant against phishing, fake websites, and other online scams.
Cyber Safety Sunday timeline
Bob Thomas creates the first virus, called Creeper, as an experiment. It spreads across ARPANET, a precursor to the internet.
Michael Aldrich invents the early conceptual groundwork for online shopping and e-commerce by connecting a television to a transaction processing computer via a telephone line.
The World Wide Web becomes publicly available, allowing businesses to begin developing online presences and opening the possibility for online transactions.
The first secure online transaction takes place—a pizza from Pizza Hut—using encryption technology, laying the foundation for safe online shopping. This marks the beginning of e-commerce as we know it.
Amazon launches as an online bookstore, later expanding and becoming one of the largest e-commerce platforms. In the same year, eBay is founded, becoming the first major online auction platform.
Phishing scams begin targeting online shopping platforms like eBay and PayPal. Cybercriminals send fake emails to steal login credentials, marking one of the first major online shopping cybercrime efforts.
The early 2000s see a huge increase in the number of e-commerce businesses. Though many companies failed during the bust, successful platforms like Amazon and eBay solidify their roles as major players in e-commerce.
With the growth of online shopping, cybercriminals begin creating fake online stores to steal consumers' credit card information. This sparks the need for more consumer education on safe online shopping.
During the holiday season, hackers steal 40 million credit and debit card records from Target. This attack raises widespread concern about the safety of online and in-store transactions, spurring retailers to enhance cybersecurity measures, especially for payment systems.
EMV chip becomes the standard for physical card transactions. This reduces card fraud but also drives cybercriminals to focus more on online shopping fraud.
Online retailers and payment platforms begin encouraging 2FA to secure consumer accounts, requiring a second form of authentication to make purchases safer for users.
As online shopping skyrockets during the pandemic, so does cybercrime. Fake e-commerce sites and phishing attacks targeting consumers shopping for essential items become rampant, driving home the importance of verifying the legitimacy of online retailers.
Consumers are warned to watch for fake deals and fraudulent stores as cybercriminals ramp up phishing and fake website scams to take advantage of the increase in online purchases during peak shopping times.
Norton introduces Cyber Safety Sunday as a day to encourage consumers to proactively protect themselves against cyberattacks and scammers during their holiday shopping.
Cyber Safety Sunday FAQs
Who invented Cyber Safety Sunday?
Cyber Safety Sunday was introduced by Norton, a leading Cyber Safety brand that is part of Gen. Norton empowers millions of individuals and families with award-winning protection for their devices, online privacy, and identity so everyone can feel safer every day in their digital life. In line with this, Norton wants to equip people with the knowledge and tools to defend themselves from the growing threats from cybercriminals during the holidays and beyond, which is why Cyber Safety Sunday was born.
What does it mean to be cyber safe?
Being cyber safe means taking actions to protect yourself online. This can include protecting and recovering your personal data, devices, networks, and programs from any type of cyberattack.
What steps can I take to recover from being scammed during the holiday season?
While protection and knowledge are important, scams still happen. Recovery from a scam or identity theft can quickly wipe away holiday cheer and leave you with a financial loss. Taking quick and proper action once you’ve learned you’ve been a victim can reduce the impact and loss.
- Immediately report the fraud to your bank or credit card company and ask them to stop all direct withdrawals. They will walk you through the next steps to remove the fraudulent charges and to open new cards.
- Report loss of personal identifiable information (PII) like your Social Security or driver’s license numbers, bank account or credit card information, phone number, email address, or anything else that can be used to steal your identity to IdentityTheft.gov right away. Identity protection services like those from LifeLock also offer restoration specialists to help you restore your identity and reimburse you for your losses.
- Freeze your current credit cards and debit cards. You can do this through most banks’ mobile apps or over the phone.
How to Observe Cyber Safety Sunday
Make your list and check it twice
Prepare your gift list and sites you’ll visit in advance. Try to shop exclusively on trusted retail sites with web addresses that start with HTTPS. On mobile devices, shop through apps directly provided by retailers rather than your web browser.
Update your passwords for shopping sites
Before you start filling your cart, make sure your passwords are updated, strong, and unique for each site. Shopping on password-protected sites can add a layer of protection. Keep track of passwords by using a password manager.
Set alerts on your accounts to warn you of unusual activity
Protect your bank account by only using credit cards when shopping online. Credit card companies have fraud liability protections that debit cards do not. Identity software like LifeLock can also alert you to suspicious activity. If you see something wrong, report it at once.
Have a package delivery plan
Keep track of what you buy, and when and where it is shipping. Postal delivery phishing scams via text, email or phone call are on the rise. Make sure you are shipping your gifts to secure locations or mailboxes to thwart the plans of porch pirates.
Use services and apps to fortify your defenses
Install device protection software, such as Norton 360 Deluxe, to help protect and alert you of potential scams, and identity protection like LifeLock. Additionally, Norton Genie is a free AI-powered scam detection app that provides a fast, easy, and free way to check if something could be a scam.
5 Facts About Festive Shopping Cybercrimes
'Tis the season for shopping and scamming
Nearly half of Americans (48%) will do most of their holiday shopping between Black Friday and Cyber Monday—making it the busiest time of the year for not only shoppers, but also scammers.
Rising concerns over cyber grinches
62% of U.S. shoppers are concerned about becoming victims of some form of cybercrime this season, with 47% specifically worried about falling for a sophisticated holiday shopping scam.
Fraudsters ruining a festive shopping season
30% of Americans have been targeted by an online holiday shopping scam. Of the 43% who fell victim, 30% report the scam happened on Black Friday, 11% on Cyber Monday, and 30% between Christmas Eve and Christmas.
Stealing more than holiday cheer
The majority of holiday scam victims (85%) experienced a financial loss averaging nearly $600.
The scam naughty list
The most common type of holiday scams are online shopping scams (42%), followed by gift card scams (34%), phishing scams (32%), then package delivery scams (27%).
Three Reasons to Celebrate Cyber Safety Sunday with Norton This Year
Shop smarter and safer
Observing Cyber Safety Sunday can save you time, money, and a lot of potential hassle by arming you with the ability to recognize legitimate deals, know which websites are secure, and avoid seasonal scams—which ensures you protect your personal data and don’t lose money to fraudulent offers and cybercrimes during the holiday rush.
Stay ahead of scams
Schemers and scammers come out of the woodwork every holiday with more sophisticated and believable tactics. Protecting yourself early before their attacks peak will keep your devices safe and let you focus on enjoying the holidays.
Secure your digital life year-round
Taking time to learn about scams and set up protections on your devices for you and your family not only protects you from scroogey scammers during the holiday season, but it also gives you security and peace of mind to live your digital life with freedom and confidence throughout the year.
Cyber Safety Sunday dates
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | December 1 | Sunday |
| 2025 | November 30 | Sunday |
| 2026 | November 29 | Sunday |
| 2027 | November 28 | Sunday |
| 2028 | November 26 | Sunday |
