With Black Friday approaching, scammers are preparing to target bargain hunters, here are three main frauds to look out for.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend starts on November 27 with fraudsters already lining up to take advantage.
Britain’s cybersecurity chief Richard Horne has dubbed it “Black Fraud Day”, telling The Guardian that now more than ever criminals are “using sophisticated techniques combined with AI to trick shoppers.”
According to Malwarebytes cyber security, there are three types of threats that consumers should watch out for this year, including brand impersonation scams, credit card skimmers and malicious advertising.
Anna Brading, a director at Malwarebytes, said: “Where there’s a gift to be bought, there’s also a scammer out to make money.”
Scammers are even impersonating companies such as Amazon, using its branding to sell their own counterfeit products.
Last month, British beauty retailer Space NK released a warning after scam adverts for their luxury beauty calendar were posted online at a discounted price.
Amazon has advised people to take action as quickly as possible if they think they have been victim to a brand impersonation scam.
Anyone affected should contact their bank to alert them of potential fraud and take steps to protect your account.
Malwarebytes has also uncovered several small online retailers that have been hacked by credit card skimmers in their checkout processes.
“If a site looks like it hasn’t been maintained for a while or displayed outdated information, you should avoid entering your card information,” they advised.
Another favourite trick of scammers during the holiday season is “malvertising” where criminals use online adverts which install malware into the person’s device when clicked on.
Martin Richardson, senior partner at fraud recovery law firm, National Fraud Helpline, said: ‘Sadly, Black Friday is an excellent opportunity for scammers to take advantage of the fact that consumers are bombarded with adverts at every turn.
‘It means fraudsters can use every trick they have to try and scam the public.#
‘We’re asking everyone to make extra checks before even clicking on a link.’
Have you lost money to a scam? Contact National Fraud Helpline. Call 0333 0033218 or fill out our Claim Form.