BBB offers tips for supporting and enjoying the games safely from home:
- Hang up on Olympic employees. “Official” representatives will not call to ask for donations or offer special merchandise; never give out credit card information or Social Security numbers to unsolicited callers.
- Beware of counterfeit merchandise. The primary source for official merchandise is sochi2014.com/en; avoid sites that offer too-good-to-be-true deals as they may simply be gathering data for identity theft purposes.
- Be cautious of bogus emails. Large phishing campaigns utilizing official names and logos are showing up in thousands of inboxes; never click on links or download attachments from unexpected emails.
- Don’t fall for fake news articles and press releases. With 100 countries represented in 15 different sports over two weeks, breaking news and updates will occur continuously; be skeptical of sensational headlines or announcements that encourage readers to visit foreign websites.
- Skip over sketchy mobile apps. Malicious mobile applications are on the rise and a quick search returns several “Olympics” apps; only choose official applications and make sure that privacy settings are strict.
For more information on the American Olympic Team, visit teamusa.org; for more information on the latest phishing scams, visit bbb.org.
