Buyers Beware: Fortinet Warns Black Friday & Cyber Monday

SUNNYVALE, CA--(Marketwired - Nov 24, 2014) - As Black Friday and Cyber Monday approach -- the two busiest shopping days of the year -- Fortinet ® ( NASDAQ : FTNT ), a global leader in high-performance network security, and its research division FortiGuard Labs, are warning shoppers to be wary of several common scams this holiday season, and have issued important tips than can keep consumers safe, both when shopping online or at brick-and-mortar stores. The full report can be found on the Fortinet blog. http://blog.fortinet.com/post/secure-your-holiday-shopping

Looming Threats for Holiday Shoppers:

• ATM Fraud: ATM fraud continues to be a way for criminals to make a fast buck, from "jackpotting" cash machines, to installing malware directly on the ATM, to skimming card data and recording your PIN. This holds especially true during the holiday season, when more people are stockpiling cash for post Thanksgiving sales.
• Point-of-Sale Kiosk Malware: Infected Point of Sale Kiosks and other compromised systems have been responsible for major retail breaches over the last year. A device can become compromised without physical access to the register. And it sometimes takes retailers a while to detect and neutralize the breach.
• Online Scams and Infected Retail Sites: As with retail shopping, malware designed to pilfer credit card information and then hand it over to cyber thieves runs rampant during the holiday season. In that same vein, keep your eye out for fake online stores that peddle counterfeit goods at too-good-to-be true prices.

How Consumers Can Protect Themselves This Holiday Season:

• Shop only at those stores -- online or offline -- that you know and trust.
• Use a credit card as opposed to a debit card to ensure fraud protection.
• Use a credit card from a financial institution that offers one-time use, time-limited or virtual credit card numbers.
• When shopping online, be sure to transmit financial information via SSL for a secure connection.
• Only download shopping applications from an official app store; and delete the app if it asks for too much information at registration.
• Never click on a link in an email -- especially if the email claims to be from your bank.
• Use a "Live CD" or dedicated browser when conducting online searches and shopping activities.

"This year, spending on holiday shopping is expected to increase significantly from last year, with more than half of that increase coming from shoppers using smartphones," said Richard Henderson, security strategist for FortiGuard Labs. "Buyers need to beware of possible threats to their personal and financial information whether online, on their phones or in-store. Knowing what to watch for and taking measures to protect themselves and their devices is critical to avoid being impacted."

About FortiGuard Labs The FortiGuard Labs global research team continuously monitors the evolving threat landscape and distributes on a daily basis to Fortinet customers worldwide preventative measures to protect those customers from newly introduced, sophisticated cyber-threats. More than 200 researchers and automated detection and prevention technology provide around-the-clock coverage to ensure your network stays protected, despite a sophisticated and ever-changing threat landscape. FortiGuard Labs delivers rapid updates and detailed security knowledge, providing protection from the latest threats.

About Fortinet Fortinet ( NASDAQ : FTNT ) helps protect networks, users and data from continually evolving threats. As a global leader in high-performance network security, we enable businesses and governments to consolidate and integrate broad, high functioning security to prevent cyber-attacks, without suffering performance penalties. Unlike costly, inflexible and low-performance alternatives, Fortinet solutions empower customers to embrace new technologies and business opportunities while protecting essential systems and content. Learn more at www.fortinet.com , or follow Fortinet at the Fortinet Blog , Google+ ,  LinkedIn or Twitter .

Copyright © 2014 Fortinet, Inc. All rights reserved. The symbols ® and ™ denote respectively federally registered trademarks and unregistered trademarks of Fortinet, Inc., its subsidiaries and affiliates. Fortinet's trademarks include, but are not limited to, the following: Fortinet, FortiGate, FortiGuard, FortiManager, FortiMail, FortiClient, FortiCare, FortiAnalyzer, FortiReporter, FortiOS, FortiASIC, FortiWiFi, FortiSwitch, FortiVoIP, FortiBIOS, FortiLog, FortiResponse, FortiCarrier, FortiScan, FortiAP, FortiDB, FortiVoice and FortiWeb. Other trademarks belong to their respective owners. Fortinet has not independently verified statements or certifications herein attributed to third parties and Fortinet does not independently endorse such statements. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, nothing herein constitutes a warranty, guarantee, binding specification or other binding commitment by Fortinet, and performance and other specification information herein may be unique to certain environments. This news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve uncertainties and assumptions. Changes of circumstances, product release delays, or other risks as stated in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, located at www.sec.gov , may cause results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in this press release. If the uncertainties materialize or the assumptions prove incorrect, results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. Fortinet assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, and expressly disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

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