The day after Thanksgiving in America would usually mark the start of the Christmas shopping season and the Santa Claus parades would bring crowds of potential shoppers to the high streets. This increase in footfall was seen as a chance for businesses to offer their best deals and so began a consumerist tradition which nowadays inevitably results in news articles of people queuing overnight for the chance to physically fight each other for cheap televisions.
Despite being a legitimate chance to scoop up a good deal, Black Friday and Cyber Monday also provide a great opportunity for scammers to make money. The scams range from a business simply claiming that a product is on offer when it is actually a higher price than usual, to criminals committing serious online fraud. Each year the figures rise and last year was no exception. GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and Action Fraud revealed that Brits reported losing over £11.5 million to online criminals between November 2023 and January 2024 – with each victim losing £695 on average.
This compares to reported losses amounting to £10.6 million the previous year.
There are two prominent things to watch out for – Bad deals and online fraud.
A recent investigation by consumer advice magazine Which? found that an astonishing 85% of the items they tracked had been the same price or cheaper in the six months before Black Friday.
They have provided some great tips for not getting caught up in the hysteria, including:
Black Friday is a cyber criminal’s favourite time of year.
A common situation is where consumers simply do not receive goods that they have bought from unfamiliar websites. Some are then subsequently targeted by criminals using the bank details given during transactions. Fake websites that look identical to official vendors’ sites will advertise goods at a much cheaper price. Action Fraud has advised consumers to take additional checks when shopping online, as Black Friday approaches on the 29th November.
Pauline Smith, the service’s director, said “If you think you have found a bargain that is too good to be true, it probably is. Stop and think before making a purchase, as it could protect you and your money.”
Dangerous emails, WhatsApp and text messages are also something very important to look out for. You must always be very careful when clicking on a link or opening an attachment as these are the easiest ways to get a virus.
A very common scam is a fake delivery message, seeming to be from a company such as Royal Mail or DPD, which will urge you not to miss an important delivery and tells you that you must provide your details or a payment within a certain time frame. This uses the social engineering principal of urgency to trick you into a vulnerable state of mind where you might not make sound decisions.
The methods used by scammers are no different during these sales than the methods that they use all year round, so it’s a good idea to stick to safe online practices throughout the year. You can find out more about staying safe online here.
Thanks for reading.