Top Black Friday Scams  to be Aware of

While Black Friday might bring some of the best deals consumers can find, it also attracts many of the most ingenious scams. Sadly, most shoppers aren’t aware of the threats they face. While they might be more aware of these scams if they land in their work email or via random SMS messages on their smartphones, they might not be as vigilant when shopping during black Friday.

“Scams explode during Black Friday because scammers know that people are much more likely to act impulsively when discounts are to be had,” says Joe Davies, founder and CEO at FATJOE. “Data from Starling bank in the UK suggests that nine out of ten people overspend during the sale, with the average person blowing £511 more than they intend. Meanwhile, over the pond, around one in four Americans scammed while shopping online fell prey to criminals during a Black Friday event. Those aren’t good odds!”

“Fake retail websites were a significant issue we uncovered when looking into the Black Friday scam data. Scammers are creating entirely fraudulent shopping portals to steal credit and debit card information from unsuspecting victims,” Davies explains.

“What’s more, these websites are often hyper-realistic. Scammers make them look the same as legitimate websites, often mimicking the most popular e-commerce stores. To avoid them, I recommend checking the URL at the top of the browser window and not clicking links in posts or email messages.”

“Social media phishing was another issue that came to our attention during the research,” Davies reveals. “With these, scammers will post deals on social media with links forwarding shoppers to fraudulent portals that then collect their financial information.”

“Our advice is for shoppers to use their common sense. Usually, something feels off with these posts. Scammers often use sales tactics, like creating a sense of urgency or scarcity, pressuring users into making rash decisions.”

“Unfortunately, Black Friday is also a time when the number of counterfeit goods in circulation also rises. Scammers capitalize on people’s desire for luxury products by offering discounts on fakes.”

“Again, my advice here is simple: if a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is. Most designer brands keep their prices high to maintain exclusivity. Fifty percent off is highly unusual unless it is through a trusted channel.”

“At FATJOE, we’re also warning people about fake order confirmations. These occur when scammers send people spurious messages confirming an order they never made. Users click on the link and, lo-and-behold, get forwarded to a website that asks for payment details.”

“Non-delivery scams work in the same way,” Davies explains. “Scammers send a fake delivery report hoping curious users will click on the link to get to the bottom of the mix-up.”

“We also found a high likelihood of gift card scams around Black Friday, simply because of the sheer number of people buying presents. Here, the idea is to get shoppers to sign up for gift cards on fake portals mimicking trusted brands where they type in their login credentials or credit card info.”

“Account verification scams work in much the same way,” Davies says. “Scammers send a message to users saying something like ‘we’ve noticed a suspicious login attempt on your account.’ Then, shoppers follow the link, going through all the usual stages to secure their accounts except, this time, it is doing the precise opposite.”

“Scammers also send shoppers fake delivery notifications hoping to extract information along the same lines. They’re not particularly original!” Davies explains. “Usually, consumers receive a fake SMS with a dubious ‘track your shipment’ URL. In reality, this is just a standard phishing link forwarding them to a spoofed domain.”

“Our research also warns shoppers about using public WiFi over the Black Friday season. Hackers can intercept information while using these networks, taking advantage of man-in-the-middle vulnerabilities. Because of this, we caution users against checking in-store prices unless on a regular 5G data connection.”

“Finally, we found some scammers were using an incorrect bank details swindle. Here, criminals send a message to shoppers saying that there has been a problem with their transaction from a store they recently bought from. The message’s link then contains a fake portal to enter bank details.”

“This should not stop shoppers from participating in Black Friday as most brands launch their best deals of the year during this time. This research should engage people to be more vigilant and not deter them from finding great deals.”

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