Black Friday is the perfect time to get holiday gifts at discounted prices. According to the director of Norton's Fraud Lab, this is also the day of the year when people are most likely to become victims of online fraud.
Norton's Leila Birge told Fox News Digital that approximately 50% of online consumers are scammed each year through various schemes to steal money or data. She said 30% of these robberies took place on Black Friday, 16% on Christmas Day and 14% on Christmas Eve. 11% will be held on Cyber Monday.
But as shoppers take advantage of holiday sales, cybersecurity firm Labs has identified the most common online scams, and Birge shared tips on how to avoid each one.
Tips to tell if an online store is real or a scam
Shoppers look for Black Friday deals at Southcoast Plaza on November 25, 2022 in Costa Mesa, California. (Gina Ferrazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
1. E-shop scam
Birge said “hundreds” of fake shops pop up online each year.
“It's very easy to create a fake e-shop that looks and feels very real. You wouldn't be able to tell it apart easily. Sometimes we have a hard time deciding whether it's true or not,'' Bilge said. “We have to think a lot about fraud because it's so much more complex and sophisticated now, especially with AI. Things are getting much more powerful.”
But you can find them using common sense, new tools, and some tactics.
One sign that an online retailer may be fake is if the deal is “too good to be true.”
“If something sells for, say, $100, you can't get it for $10,” Birge said. “So it's not like you'll never get it.” [a] The discount is 90% less, but websites like this usually offer outrageous discounts like this. ”
Fake e-shops, fake charities, and “smishing” are some of the most common methods scammers use to take advantage of holiday shoppers. (Kurt Knutson)
Bilge said the payment pages on these fake sites often provide useful clues.
“Typically, the first page always says that you can pay for everything possible: PayPal, Google, Google Pay, Amazon, Apple Pay, or even Visa, Mastercard. It’s on,” Bilge says. said. “But when you actually check out, they'll either tell you to pay with a gift card because it's hard to track, or they'll tell you to pay with PayPal.”
“When you see a discrepancy like this between the first page and the last page, you have to be very careful,” she continued.
Checking the website's URL can also be helpful, Birge says.
“Let’s say that. [the fake e-shop] “It could be an Amazon knockoff,” she said. “You might want to check to see if the name of your website actually matches your brand. Let’s say you have Amazon.com. [their website could be] Amazon beautifulverycool.com, it looks like this. ”
Being careful before taking advantage of attractive deals can save your wallet and your personal information, and you can also research the seller itself if you've never shopped there before, she said.
“We may need to be very careful and cross-check with third-party organizations that are actually providing reviews of our organization,” Birge said. “We actually have an AI-powered chatbot called Norton Genie that allows users to easily cross-check.”
According to Norton data, approximately 30% of Black Friday shoppers fall victim to fraud. (St. Petersburg)
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Shoppers can also crowdsource their cons. Reddit's scam subreddit Reddit.com/r/scams has nearly 1 million subscribers, many of whom use their experience and unique technical know-how to quickly answer questions about questionable websites.
A quick Google search often reveals fake e-shops. The Better Business Bureau also has a searchable list of certified and non-certified businesses that you can use.
Always look for a lock icon in your browser's address bar to indicate that a website is using a secure connection. You can also check to see if your website's URL starts with “https” instead of “http.” This indicates a secure connection.
Finally, check the company's website for its physical address and phone number. If you're not sure about its legitimacy, do a quick search on Google Maps and see if the business shows up.
2. “Smishing” package delivery scam
Many consumers receive larger shipments around the holiday season as they order gifts from friends and family.
However, this leaves you susceptible to “smishing” scams, which are fake text messages or emails from UPS, U.S. Postal Service, Amazon, etc. sent by scammers to collect personal information.
“They'll say there's a problem with your payment or they can actually steal your money if you don't make additional payments,” Birge said. “Or they could actually compromise some personal information and use it for other types of attacks that might occur later.”
One way to spot these scams is to take a closer look at the phone number or email address the communication is coming from.
Smishing is a scam in which scammers attempt to imitate reputable companies through text messages. (CyberGuy.com)
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“You can see the sender or email address. It almost always contains random letters and numbers @gmail.com, which is highly suspicious. I mean, that would never happen.” said Birge. “You will never receive such emails from Amazon or UPS.”
You can usually ignore such emails. According to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service website, it will not send text messages to customers unless they first request service using their tracking number. Even if an email is requested, the communication will never include a link, officials said.
“If you did not initiate a tracking request for a particular package directly from USPS and the package includes a link, do not click on the link,” the Postal Inspection Service wrote.
black friday shopping (Daniela Hemminghaus/USA TODAY NETWORK/File)
3. Charity fraud
Thieves often impersonate well-known charities using emails, text messages, or fake websites. They can also completely fabricate charities for noble causes and trick unsuspecting donors into wasting their hard-earned money.
According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), one way to spot a fake charity is the way they contact you. Charitable organizations are excluded from the country's “do not call list,” but must comply if asked to stop making phone calls, the FCC writes on its website.
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The agency also suggests verifying phone numbers and URLs before donating to charities. Services like Norton Genie, Google, and Reddit.com/r/scams are tools that can help.
The FBI's Philadelphia field office warned consumers that donations should always be made by check or credit card.
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“If an organization asks for a donation in cash, gift cards, virtual currency, or wire transfer, it is likely a scam,” the agency wrote.
Donors should be wary of charities claiming to support victims of recent major disasters and double-check charity names to check for “copycat names.”
