Beware – Black Friday online shopping scams are here now
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Although Black Friday is only a few days away, cybercriminals are not hesitant to try and take advantage of the upcoming shopping spree.
Bitdefender cybersecurity researchers have conducted a wide range of recent analysis and found numerous scams attempting to take advantage of gullible customers.
The most popular method seems to be a phishing campaign where people are lured with huge discounts on designer bags and sunglasses and then stolen (opens in new tab) their credit card information, when victims submit this information on specially crafted landing pages.
Fake surveys, fake sunglasses
In addition to fake Louis Vuitton bags, victims are also lured with counterfeit gift cards from Amazon and Home Depot, worth as much as $1,000, as well as fake surveys that promise people big rewards, such as Pixel phones and Samsung Galaxy S21 phones. In some cases, the investigators have also seen counterfeit PayPal vouchers.
With the vouchers and surveys, the victims are invited to complete the task, and then – if they win the prize (and they always do, regardless of the answers) – they just have to pay the shipping costs, which the fraudsters claim is approximately being $5.
To make this payment, they must also provide all credit card information, including the expiration date and CVV number. Thus, not only will the victims make a small donation to the fraudsters out of ignorance, but they will also have given them access to their accounts, which they can then purge.
Like any other holiday, Black Friday is a major event for fraudsters, and Bitdefender researchers are urging customers to be extra careful when hunting for great deals.
“Don’t fall for the impressive discounts that sound too good to be true,” they say. Even if you receive an offer that looks absolutely legitimate, do not click on the link provided, but visit the page directly to make sure you are not redirected to a malicious landing page.