The FBI has issued a scam warning to online shoppers amid Black Friday deals.
“When shopping online during the holiday season—or any time of year—always be wary of deals that seem too good to be true. Don’t become a scammer’s next victim,” the FBI said in a post on its website. “Every year, thousands of people become victims of holiday scams. Scammers can rob you of hard-earned money, personal information, and, at the very least, a festive mood.” the post added.
The FBI mentioned four common scams to watch out for: non-delivery scams, where buyers pay for items online but never receive them; non-payment scams, where sellers ship goods but don’t get paid; auction fraud, involving the misrepresentation of products on auction sites; and gift card fraud, where scammers request payment through prepaid cards.
A 2023 report from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center found that non-payment and non-delivery scams cost consumers more than $309 million last year and credit card fraud resulted in an additional $173 million in losses.
The FBI advised that you should refrain from clicking suspicious links and should be discerning with password change requests. You should also make sure you know who you are purchasing items from online. The agency also said to be careful with payment methods, to track packages and addresses of cardholders, as well as to always check the URL of whatever website you are on to ensure it is “legitimate and secure.”
“A site you’re buying from should have https in the web address. If it doesn’t, don’t enter your information on that site,” the agency said.
Other ways to protect yourself from scams include not buying from a website until you have checked online available reviews, avoiding buying from websites that specify unusual shipping arrangements that bypass customers checks or fees, and not buying with pre-paid gift cards. The FBI explains: “In these scams, a seller will ask you to send them a gift card number and PIN. Instead of using that gift card for your payment, the scammer will steal the funds, and you’ll never receive your item.”
Earlier this week, risk analysts at fraud prevention firm LexisNexis Risk Solutions warned customers should be “extra vigilant” during Black Friday sales. The firm cautioned that fraudsters frequently deploy advanced bots to rapidly test stolen login credentials across multiple websites.
According to a recent report by IT security firm Check Point, websites related to Black Friday have surged 89 percent in the weeks preceding Thanksgiving from the same period last year.
“Nearly all of these sites impersonate well-known brands, and almost none are classified ‘safe,'” said the report.
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