Black Friday shoppers targeted with scams – experts reveal tips to protect yourself

If these Black Friday deals are too good to be true – they probably are.

The day after Thanksgiving is reserved for big sales, not scams, but on Black Friday, cybercrime runs rampant, from fraudulent websites to fake ads made to look like fan-favorite brands.

Fox News reports that 50% of online customers fall for fraud each year, with 30% of cybercrime involving personal data or money occurring on Black Friday and a further 11% occurring on Cyber ​​Monday.

“With the way it now seems like everyone is doing business online, reliance on digital platforms has given these groups a wider attack surface than ever,” Cody Barrow, CEO of cyber defense firm EclecticIQ, told CBS News. “Unfortunately, it is likely that we will see the impact extend into next week.”

EclecticIQ recently released a report that found thousands of counterfeit websites using a fake “Trusted Store” badge in an attempt to steal financial information.

Sometimes the fraudulent sites will look like those of popular brands that can’t miss deals on products. Other times, they create criminal ads that appear to be for, say, Wayfair or IKEA, and then plaster them on social media and other sites.

Duped customers probably don’t realize they’ve been scammed until they never receive their order from the fake websites that proliferate this time of year.

“It’s very easy to create a fake e-shop that looks really realistic. The look and feel is fantastic. You won’t be able to spot it very easily. So even us, sometimes we struggle to figure out if something is real or not, Leyla Blige of Norton’s Scam Research Labs told Fox News.

“You have to think twice with fraud because they’re really complicated and sophisticated now, especially with AI. Things are getting a lot stronger.”

As businesses prepare to smash previous Black Friday records this year, experts offer tips to keep your finances and personal data safe from cybercriminals.

In addition to securing accounts as you normally would, Blige advises never trusting deals that are “too good to be true.”

“If something sells for, say, $100, you’re not going to get it for $10,” she explained. “So it’s not like you’re never going to get (a) 90% off discount, but typically you get these kinds of crazy discounts on sites like that.”

Inconsistencies on the same website are also a red flag. Sometimes fraudulent sites will advertise on their website that they take all forms of payment, but when customers check out, the site will only take payment by PayPal or a gift card “because it’s hard for us to track,” Blige said.

“If you see this kind of discrepancy between the first page and the last page, you have to be very careful,” she added.

Keep an eye out for unusual URLs when you are redirected to websites, double-check that the webpage you are visiting is legitimate – and be sure to read reviews.

“You might want to be really careful and cross-check with third-party organizations that actually provide reviews about our organizations,” Bilge advised. “We actually have an AI-powered chatbot that we call Norton Genie that a user can easily cross-check.”

On sites like Reddit, there are forums to double-check with other shoppers about potential scams, and a simple Internet search is likely to reveal fake sites as well, Blige said. Additionally, URLs that begin with “https” are secure, while those that begin with “http” do not have a secure connection.

Smishing — a version of texting scams in which criminals send text blasts impersonating businesses to trick recipients into divulging sensitive information — is also a danger during the holidays.

“They’ll tell you there’s a problem with your payment or you have to make an extra payment so they can actually steal your money,” Bilge explained. “Or they could try to compromise some personal information so they can use it for another type of attack that might happen later.”

She recommended double-checking the sender’s email address or phone number, noting that it will “be some random characters” or email address “that’s really suspicious.”

As a rule of thumb, don’t click on links from unknown senders.

“You’re never going to get that email from Amazon or UPS with an email like that,” she warned.