if they black friday deals Too good to be true – chances are they are.
is the day after thanksgiving Blockbuster reserved for saleNot scams, but on Black Friday, cyber crime runs rampant, from fraudulent websites to fake ads looking like fan-favorite brands.
fox news It is reported that 50% online buyer Fall victims of scams each year, 30% of cyber crimes involving personal data or money occur on Black Friday and another 11% occur on Cyber Monday.
“With the way it seems like everyone is shopping online now, the reliance on digital platforms has given these groups a broader attack surface than ever before,” said Cody Barrow, CEO of cyber defense company EclecticIQ. told cbs news“Unfortunately, it’s likely we’ll see the effects of this until next week.”
EclecticIQ recently released a report that found thousands of fake websites using fake “Trusted Store” badges in an attempt to steal financial information.
Sometimes, fraudulent sites will appear very similar to popular brands offering non-discounted deals on products. Other times, criminals create ads that appear to be for Wayfair or Ikea, for example, and then put them on social media and other sites.
Defrauded customers may not realize they have been scammed until they receive their order from fraudulent websites, which proliferate at this time of year.
“It is very easy to create a fake e-shop that looks really realistic. The look and feel is amazing. You really won’t recognize it easily. So we, too, sometimes struggle to figure out whether something is real or not,” Leyla Blige of Norton Scam Research Labs told Fox News.
“You have to think twice about scams because they are really complex and sophisticated now, especially with AI. “Things are getting a lot more powerful.”
As businesses grow To break the previous Black Friday record This year, experts are offering tips to keep your finances and personal data safe from cybercriminals.
In addition to securing accounts as you normally would, Blige recommends never trusting deals that are “too good to be true.”
“If something sells for $100, you can’t get it for $100,” he explained. “So it’s not like you’ll never have [a] 90% off, but usually, you get crazy discounts like this on such websites.
Discrepancies on the same website are also a red flag. Sometimes, fraudulent sites advertise on their home page that they take all types of payments, but when customers check out, the site will only take payment by PayPal or gift card “because it is difficult for us to trace, ” Blige said.
He further added, “If you see such discrepancies between the first page and the last page, you have to be very careful.”
Keep your eyes open for unusual URLs when redirected to websites, double-check that the webpage you’re visiting is legitimate – and be sure to read reviews.
“You’ll want to be really careful and cross-check with third-party organizations that are actually providing reviews about our organizations,” Bilge advised. “We actually have an AI-powered chatbot, which we call Norton Genie, that the user can easily cross-check.”
On sites like Reddit, there are forums to double-check with fellow buyers about potential scams, and a simple search on the Internet will likely uncover fake sites as well, Blige said. Additionally, URLs that begin with “https” are secure, while URLs that begin with “http” do not have a secure connection.
smile – A version of texting scams in which criminals impersonate businesses and send text blasts to trick recipients into giving up sensitive information – is also a threat during the holidays.
“They will tell you there is a problem with your payment, or that you have to pay extra so they can actually steal your money,” Bilge said. “Or they may actually try to compromise some personal information so they can use it for a different type of attack that may happen later.”
He recommended double-checking the sender’s email address or phone number, noting that it would likely be “some random letters” or email address, “which is really suspicious.”
As a general rule, don’t click on links from unknown senders.
“You’ll never get an email like that from Amazon or UPS,” he warned.
