Black Friday shoppers targeted with scams experts reveal tips to protect yourself from deals too good to be true

If those Black Friday deals are too good to be true — it’s likely that they are.The day after Thanksgiving is reserved for blockbuster sales, not scams, but on Black Friday, cybercrime runs rampant, from fraudulent websites to faux advertisements made to look like fan-favorite brands.Fox News reports that 50% of online shoppers fall for scams each year, with 30% of cybercrime involving personal data or money occurring on Black Friday and another 11% happening on Cyber Monday.“With the way it now seems like everyone is shopping online, reliance on digital platforms has handed these groups a wider attack surface than ever,” Cody Barrow, the CEO of cyber defense company EclecticIQ, told CBS News.“Unfortunately, it’s likely we’ll see its impact stretch into next week.”EclecticIQ recently released a report that found thousands of counterfeit websites using a fake “Trusted Store” badge in an attempt to steal financial information.

Sometimes, the fraudulent sites will look eerily similar to those of popular brands offering can’t-miss deals on products.Other times, the criminals fabricate ads that appear to be for Wayfair or IKEA, for example, and then plaster them on social media and other sites.

Duped customers likely are not aware they have been scammed until they never receive their order from the faux websites, which proliferate at this time of year.“It’s very easy to create a fake e-shop that looks really realistic.The look and feel is amazing.

You won’t be able to spot it really easily.So even us, sometimes we struggle to figure out if something is real or not,” Leyla Blige, of Norton’s Scam Research Labs, told Fox News.

“You have to think twice with scams because they’re really complicated and sophisticated now, especially with AI.Things are becoming much more powerful.”As businesses gear up to smash previous Black Friday records this year, experts are offering tips to keep your finances and personal data safe from cybercr...