Black Friday scams to beware of – as expert warns it’s ‘harder and harder’ to track putting your money at risk

Scammers are prepared to take advantage of the enthusiasm that is building among consumers who are eager to spend money on Black Friday.

This holiday season, experts advise being alert and making sure you are safe by adhering to a few key guidelines.

Bitdefender, a cybersecurity firm, claims that three of every four Black Friday emails sent to customers are fraudulent.

The US continues to be the leading target for spam activity worldwide, with a 7% increase over 2023 levels.

According to Trendmicro Vice President Jon Clay, consumers are finding it more difficult to distinguish between authentic and fraudulent content on the internet, and the development of artificial intelligence has made it possible for malicious actors to take advantage of weaker individuals.

According to Clay, fraudsters are increasingly using AI to craft extremely complex scams that are more difficult to identify through in-person contacts.

Customers should also be on the lookout for thieves attempting to obtain their financial and personal information by impersonating well-known stores and phony websites, as well as by sending phishing emails.

Clay advised consumers to be especially watchful for offers that look too good to be true.

Additionally, he advised consumers to utilize secure payment methods, such as credit cards with fraud protection, and to double-check website URLs before inputting personal information.

Never click on links in unsolicited emails, and always go straight to the retailer’s website rather than using a third-party source.

According to Clay, maintaining software updates and turning on multi-factor authentication are also crucial precautions against these changing attacks.

Destiny Chatman, a consumer expert, advised those who are purchasing at a new website to conduct independent research and read customer evaluations.

If an offer looks too good to be true, it most likely is, and you should look into it,” Chatman advised.

“Looking up evaluations of the company online is an excellent strategy to avoid being scammed if the brand or website you are shopping at isn’t well-known or trustworthy.

USE PRICE MATCHING TOOLS

She added that price matching sites like PriceGrabber and CameCamelCamel can be used by customers to monitor pricing trends on Black Friday.

You can be sure you’re getting the most value for your money by using these websites.

“Seeing the original prices can help you decide if the current discount is worth it or not,” she stated.

WATCH OUT FOR BRICK AND MORTAR

Regular retailers might be deceptive, but fraudsters are hazardous.

Senior e-commerce specialist at Omnisend According to Greg Zakowicz, consumers should constantly be alert for deceptive claims about discounts.

He recommended utilizing PriceSpy, a tool that shows how much an item has sold for in the past, or Wayback Machine, an archive website, to see if the deal was less expensive in the past.

“If a product is advertised as 50% off, check if it was ever sold at that higher price,” Zakowicz advised.

“Retailers may mark up prices before the sale, making discounts appear more attractive.”