Beware Black Friday shopping scams
Shoppers are expected to spend a whopping £9 billion on Black Friday, but are being urged to be on their guard against scams.
Tempting as it might be to rush in and grab a bargain, it’s worth remembering that the period around Black Friday on November 29 and Cyber Monday on December 2 is a peak time for fraudsters to trick you into handing over your cash. According to Co-operative Bank, online shopping and auctions are the most common type of fraud in the UK, accounting for one in every five fraud reports.
Social media platforms in particular often lead to significant fraud losses for consumers. TSB found that Facebook accounted for two thirds (67%) of all purchase fraud losses by volume, and 59% by value. This is followed by Instagram, which accounts for 16% of purchase fraud by volume, and almost a third (29%) by value.
Nicola Bannister, customer support director at TSB, said: “At this time of year, we’re all shopping online more than ever – but it’s important to be wary of scams on social media platforms, as crooks are listing items that simply don’t exist. We’d advise sticking to reputable websites and only buying an item you’ve found on a social media platform if you can view it in person first.”
Here, we look at some of the other golden rules that we should all follow when shopping this festive season, so you can be certain you end up having a merry and not a miserable Christmas.
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Ways to protect yourself from falling victim to fraud
There are several steps we can all take to reduce the chances of scammers stealing our money.
- Don’t use the same password when online shopping
Many of us are guilty of using the same password on lots of different websites, but this leaves you much more likely to fall victim to scammers, especially if you choose something simple and easy to guess. Ideally you should use strong unique passwords for each account you have, and if you’re worried about losing track of them all
- Stick with the names you know
It’s safer to stick with big-brand names when shopping online, unless you know you’re definitely dealing with a trusted site. You should only ever buy from websites with ‘https’ preceding the website address, as this means the site is a secure connection.
- If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.
A spokesman for Co-operative Bank said: “Extremely low prices or guaranteed returns are often scams. Always ask for verified credentials from businesses. If they can't provide them, it's likely a scam. Stop communicating with suspected scammers and cancel any pending transactions.”
- Check emails before clicking
The chances are your email inbox will be jam-packed with marketing emails in the run up to Black Friday, but even though they might look convincing, some of them may contain fake links designed to steal your personal details and payment information, so check them carefully before clicking on anything. A spokesman for cashback website TopCashback, said: “You can do this by clicking on the sender to see the email address it’s come from. Watch out for any misspellings or strange, unrelated email addresses. If you’re unsure, go directly to the retailer’s website instead.”
If you think you’ve fallen victim to an online shopping scam, contact your bank immediately and see if they can stop your transaction. Report what’s happened to the national fraud reporting centre Action Fraud either online or by calling 0300 123 2040.