Black Friday/ Cyber Monday Scams & How to Avoid Them
9 Common Scams Targeting Shoppers This Time of Year and How To Avoid Them
Online shopping scams have become some of the biggest threats to Americans — especially during the busy Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping season. Every year, scammers trick hundreds of thousands of victims into wasting money on fraudulent and counterfeit goods or sharing payment information with fake online stores.
According to the latest data:
Shoppers spent over $20 billion during Black Friday and Cyber Monday last year alone — making it a prime target for scammers.
While Black Friday is a great opportunity to take advantage of the special deals retailers put out at the start of the shopping season, it’s also rife with frauds and scams you need to avoid.
There are numerous ways for scammers to target you during the holiday shopping season — from suspicious links in Black Friday scam phishing emails to fake online stores or coupons.
But ultimately, scammers are all after the same things: your money, personal information they can use to steal your identity, or financial information such as your credit card numbers or bank account details.
Here are the most common scams targeting shoppers this time of year as well as the red flags to watch out for:
1. Fake or spoofed online stores
Cybercriminals create fake online stores or spoof popular e-commerce and retailer sites to trick you into sending them money or entering your financial information and personal details.
At best, you could end up paying for a counterfeit product. At worst, scammers will use your stolen information to steal your identity and commit financial fraud.
How to spot and avoid a fake online store:
Check the URL. Scammers use spoofed domains to make their fake websites look more legitimate. For example, you could be on “Walmrat.com” instead of the official “Walmart.com”, or “deals-at-bestbuy.info” instead of “bestbuy.com.”
Look for strange copy, design, and details. If you’re on a smaller retailer’s site or an unknown store, look for signs that it’s a fake. For example, low-quality images that could’ve been stolen from other sites or brand names or descriptions that don’t make sense or aren’t in proper English.
Don’t enter payment information on unsecured websites. Secure sites use what’s called SSL (secure sockets layer) encryption. This means that any information you enter — name, shipping address, credit card number — will be masked and can’t be intercepted by hackers. To ensure you’re on a secure site, look for HTTPS (not HTTP) and a padlock symbol near the URL in the address bar.
2. Social media ads for “too-good-to-be-true” deals
By some accounts, 40% of all online shopping scams come from Facebook and Instagram ads. Scammers create flashy ads with discounted prices to entice shoppers — but if you click, you’ll be taken to a spam website selling knockoffs or a fake store that steals your personal information.
In another version of this scam, fraudsters pose as disgruntled employees from luxury stores and post secret “discount codes” — but when you try to use them, you’re taken to a fake store with massive shipping fees.
The bottom line: Don’t blindly trust social media ads. If you see a deal you’re interested in, navigate to the store or retailer directly (not via the ad) to see if it exists.
3. Fake order confirmation emails
Fraudsters know that people are busy shopping during the holiday season and are likely dealing with a ton of messages about order confirmations. In this scam, fraudsters send fake phishing emails and texts disguised as these messages, but claiming there’s an issue with your order. If you click on the included link, you’ll be taken to a fake website that can steal your passwords, payment information, and more.
How to spot and avoid fake order confirmation emails:
Check the sender’s “from” name. Before you click or respond, click on the sender’s “from” name to reveal their email. Make sure that it’s coming from the company’s official domain (such as @Amazon.com)
Log in to your account directly to check on the order status. If there’s an issue with your order, it will show up in your online account. Don’t click on the link in the email or text. Instead, log in directly.
Block fake websites with Safe Browsing tools. Almost all phishing email and text scams will try to get you to visit a fake website.
4. Fraudulent delivery notification messages
In this phishing scam, fraudsters target you with a different type of message — a fake delivery notification from FedEx, UPS, or the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). These scams are most common over text message and include a link to a site to “fix” the shipping issue, either by entering your personal information or paying a missed “fee” or taxes.
The bottom line: Always check on deliveries directly with the shipper. Don’t click on links in unsolicited text messages or emails. Instead, find your original email and use the included tracking number on the shipper’s official website.
5. Fake charity and fundraiser scams
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, many people donate to charities during the holiday season. Unfortunately, there are plenty of scammers waiting to take advantage of people’s good hearted intentions.
Charity fraud scams impersonate successful charity organizations, where con artists go to great lengths to deceive their victims. Using fake copycat websites and well orchestrated social media campaigns, these fraudsters deceive people into making donations that never reach a legitimate charity.
How to spot and avoid a fake charity:
Look up their credentials on a charity watchdog site. You can make sure you’re donating to a legitimate organization by researching them on sites like CharityNavigator.org, CharityWatch.org, or the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance.
Make sure you know who’s running a fundraiser. If you want to donate to an online fundraiser or GoFundMe, check who’s actually running the fundraiser to see if they’re someone you trust.
6. Gift card scams
Scammers love gift cards because they’re easy to purchase and almost impossible to trace or refund once sent. In these scams, fraudsters set up fake stores and request payment via popular gift cards, such as Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, or Visa prepaid cards.
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC):
Americans have lost over $160 million to gift card scams since the start of 2023.
The bottom line: Gift cards are for gifts — not making purchases or paying for services on third-party websites. If someone asks you to buy gift cards and send them the numbers, PINs, or photos of the cards, it’s a scam.
7. Bogus coupon and voucher websites
Even though Black Friday and Cyber Monday automatically include some of the best deals of the shopping season, scammers know people always want a better deal. In these scams, they create fake websites that claim to house special discount codes, coupons, or vouchers for popular retailers.
At best, these sites are loaded full of ads (and no real coupons). At worst, your device could get infected with malware from a malicious ad.
Pro tip: Companies almost never publicly share valid discount codes over 15 or 20%. Always ensure you check discount codes on the retailer’s official site during the checkout process.
8. Non-delivery scams
When making online purchases, you should always receive an order confirmation with a tracking number. In these scams, fraudsters either send bogus tracking numbers or none at all. In essence, you’ve paid for nothing.
While it can be hard to spot a non-delivery scam before you become a victim, you can still do your due diligence by checking for warning signs of a fake store and also reading the retailer’s shipping and returns policy.
9. Sellers asking for non-traditional payment options
Online retailers will almost always accept traditional payment methods, such as credit cards or trustworthy payment apps like PayPal. If a store or seller will only accept a non-traditional payment method, they may be trying to scam you as these methods are harder to trace or refund.
Be extra cautious if a store or seller asks you to pay with:
Wire transfers: These are nearly instantaneous and impossible to refund once sent.
Cryptocurrencies: Hackers love cryptocurrencies as they allow for anonymous transactions that can’t be refunded or traced.
Payment apps like Zelle, Venmo, and Cash App: While some payment apps offer payment protection if you mark the payment as for a business, scammers will try to get you to mark it as personal — so it can’t be refunded.
Gift cards: Unless you’re using a gift card on the retailer’s official website (i.e., using an Apple gift card to buy an iPhone from the official Apple Store), this is a clear red flag of a scam.
Beware of new scams
If you ever have doubts about a website, company, or some form of communication you’ve received from an online retailer, you can search Google to see if there is information about a related scam.
Try searching the following:
Company name + scam (e.g. “G’s Records Inc. scam”)
Product + scam (e.g. “Headphones scam”)
Method + scam (e.g. “Email gift card scam”)
Check out the top results, which could include a recent blog post or customer reviews that may verify that a scam exists. If you think a scammer might be targeting you, doing research will offer peace of mind to know if the communication is legitimate.
DiNardi, Gaetano. “How to Avoid Black Friday & Cyber Monday Scams (2023).” RSS, Aura, 7 Nov. 2023, www.aura.com/learn/black-friday-cyber-monday-scams.