Black Friday is just under a week away, falling on Nov. 24. It’s sure to be a day filled with deals on items like headphones and air fryers, but with all of the potential money flowing from our wallets to stores, it’s no surprise that cybercriminals will be looking to get their hands on some of it.
While scammers do work year round, they tend to turn up their efforts during the high-spending holiday season to exploit the spirit of giving.
These holiday shopping scams are wide-ranging. As retailers like Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart roll out deals over the holidays, fraudsters create elaborate websites to trick you into spending money on products that you’ll never receive. You may receive text messages or emails claiming you’re eligible for a refund for an item you never purchased, just so thieves can snag your credit card information. You might even be enticed into donating to a charity that provides homes for abandoned puppies — only to find out it doesn’t actually exist.
Scams come in all shapes and sizes, but they always come with red flags that can help you spot them. Here’s what you need to know about Black Friday scams and how to avoid becoming a victim this holiday season.
For more about security and privacy this holiday season, check out the best identity theft protection and monitoring services of 2023. And here are 6 tips to help keep your personal data private.
Fake websites and fraudulent apps go ‘phishing’
In a phishing scheme, the goal is for hackers to get their hands on your personal information, like your credit card number, social security or account password. Pretending to be a large retail corporation, the fraudsters send out an official-looking email or text message, usually with a link to a fraudulent website designed to look just like a legitimate site.
Researchers at security firm Avanan discovered that hackers were sending out spoofed Amazon order…
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