We’re heading straight into the Black Friday sales season, with major online retailer Amazon having already launched seasonal offers, but with such a savings blitz on the horizon, you need to be on the lookout for malicious websites and services online that can trick you and steal your personal could steal data at risk. We keep a close eye on the current threat of scams every month, but we’re putting the spotlight on coupon scams that can promise a good deal and deliver nothing of the sort.
Before we get too much into the weeds, trust Ny Breaking when it comes to the best coupons for tech products. We are constantly updating our articles on HP discount codes, Dyson coupons, Samsung promo codes and more, with our discount codes sourced directly from brands and retailers. We don’t do dodgy discounts, and if it’s listed on one of our discount pages, it’s a tested and verified coupon (although of course keep in mind that such codes expire and don’t last forever).
However, there are plenty of sources for coupons that could put you at risk. The physical act of entering a blind code into a box at the checkout probably won’t result in any blowback, but the act of obtaining the coupon is a different story.
We’ve boiled down our advice on keeping coupon scams safe into three easy-to-understand points. Read on to learn the best practices when it comes to online scams involving fake discount codes.
1. Only trust legitimate websites, emails and social media posts
Call me biased, but Ny Breaking is a very good website, and as already mentioned, you can trust the coupon codes and offers we mention in our articles. When it comes to lesser-known websites that offer “too good to be true” deals, display a huge amount of ads, or require sign-ups or payments before displaying codes, things get murky.
A quick indication of a website’s legitimacy is its URL. For example, if a fake coupon website is trying to impersonate Ny Breaking, the URL may be spelled differently or have a different address than .com (such as .xyz, .gg, or .tv). However, some scam websites won’t go the imitation route and instead skip the fake legitimacy entirely. This makes it tricky, so a good rule of thumb is: if you don’t know it, don’t click on it.
If the website in question has received positive reviews or is linked by other reputable websites, then that’s a completely different story and you could give the website some trust based on these points, but it would be a mistake to to be completely trusted. , then your email inbox will be filled with spam after you enter your personal information, or your account will be debited for making a payment to sign up.
This tip also applies to emails and social media posts. For example, say Dell is having a Black Friday sale and you are a regular customer; you’ll likely see emails in your inbox from Dell advertising the sale, along with social media posts to the same effect. A bad actor could impersonate Dell email addresses or social media accounts to advertise fake discount codes. Check the validity of these things against what Dell has on its websites and official “verified” social media accounts.
2. Don’t sign up for discount codes and especially don’t give out your credit card details
This is an easy tip to recommend as it will stop cybercriminals; do not provide your credit card details, and unless the website is a trusted website, you should not even create an account with them.
When it comes to coupon codes, an unreliable website may be set up so that discounts are partially visible but are only revealed if you create an account where credit card information is revealed. Don’t do this, there’s no reason why a coupon code aggregator would need your card details, and unless you trust the website you shouldn’t sign up for an account or you could be cursing your email inbox and phone number as constant spam targets .
3. Coupon extensions are great, but know the risks
One popular shopping tool that has really gained traction over the past five years is coupon browser extensions like Honey and Cently. Such browser extensions can be very useful, but because they are deeply embedded in the browser of your choice, such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, they can pose a risk to your personal and financial security.
ExpressVPN, the makers of Ny Breaking’s recommended best VPN for beginners, has done an excellent job assessing the legitimacy of browser extensions for coupons. Here’s a brief explanation of ExpressVPN’s rating for a handful of browser extensions:
- Honey: Data about purchases is collected and shared with parent company PayPal. It is generally a safe extension to use, but you may want to skip it if you are concerned about data collection.
- Cently: Data about purchases and shopping habits is shared with partners primarily for marketing purposes. It’s still a relatively safe extension to use, but your data isn’t private.
- Coupert: Here too, personal shopping behavior on the internet is tracked and shared with partners. It’s still a safe extension to use and it encrypts the data it shares, but keep in mind that it’s being shared at all.
These are legitimate coupon extensions that can give you real savings at checkout, but before you sign up for all the coupons at once, keep an eye out for the less-than-legitimate coupons. For example, extensions listed in the Chrome Web Store may say they track coupons across the web, but in reality they just flood your browser with spam. Only install legitimate extensions with a proven track record, and if you’re unsure, check the extension reviews on their listing page.
This Black Friday season, remember: if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. Stay safe online and have fun shopping.