Scammers promise a number of prizes in return for a few clicks

Dec 3, 2012 20:11 GMT  ·  By

Users who want to offer their children a memorable Christmas experience by having a company send them personalized responses from Santa Claus are advised to be on the lookout for shady emails that advertise such services.

The emails are entitled something like “Personal Letter From Santa For Your Child,” “Letter From Santa For Your Child,” “Santa Claus Letters,” “A personal letter from Santa for your little ones” or “Custom Santa Letters.”

Websense experts warn that these messages have nothing to do with a legitimate company. Instead, they’re sent out by cybercriminals in an attempt to trick users into clicking on links that point to rogue survey sites.

Once they click on the links, victims are promised all sorts of prizes in return for some personal details and the completion of a survey.

In reality, you can’t win anything, but the scammers do. They not only get your personal details, but they also earn money via affiliate referral programs.