Top 5 scams you should watch out for on Black Friday

As shoppers prepare for Black Friday and the festive season, fraudsters are also stepping up, targeting inboxes, social media feeds, and chat services with increasingly realistic scams. These range from fake delivery notifications to counterfeit giveaway offers, all designed to look like genuine communications from well-known brands. With more people shopping on mobile devices and the growth of AI-powered tools and conversational commerce, falling victim to these scams has become much easier. In fact, last year the British cyber security company Darktrace reported a 692% rise in phishing attacks in the lead-up to Black Friday.

Lee Suker, Head of Authentication and Number Information at the cloud communications company Sinch, has warned of top five scams shoppers should look out for this year.

“Fraudsters are sending fake SMS alerts with tracking links, designed to lure shoppers into phishing sites. These messages often look legitimate and tend to spike during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, when consumers are expecting deliveries,” Suker tells the Express, urging brands to secure their messaging channels and detect spoofed traffic before it reaches consumers.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), an independent agency of the US government, anyone receiving an unexpected message should exercise caution. The FTC advises never clicking on links from unknown senders and instead checking order updates directly through official retailer apps or websites. Shoppers should also be wary of sharing personal or payment details in response to unsolicited messages.

“Scammers are flooding platforms like Instagram and TikTok with ads offering 90% off big-name brands. The catch? The sites are fake, and payment details are harvested,” Suker explains. For example, the UK’s consumer body Which? found that an advert impersonating Currys, appearing on both Facebook and Instagram, attempted to lure in victims by claiming to offer 90% off on a wide range of products. However, it went through to a completely different URL and was evidently a scam to attract buyers.

A shopper buying Christmas pyjamas for her family shared her experience of falling for a Black Friday scam last year.

“I saw an ad on Facebook from a company that I’ve heard amazing things about. The website looked the same as normal, with the same logo and company name and everything. 70% off for Black Friday! I purchased a set for each of us, got the receipt emailed and what do you know, it is from a different website. I emailed the real company and they confirmed that it was a scam and asked for more information for their legal team since the website I purchased from is literally exact to theirs. My bank won’t help me. Now I have to tell my husband I wasted money we don’t have and we won’t even get anything to show for it. I am so annoyed and embarrassed that I fell for a scam. I just have felt like crying all day,” the upset user wrote on Reddit.

To avoid falling for social media scam ads, the FTC advises to always check who is really selling the product rather than assuming it’s the advertised brand. Look up the company’s name online and add words like “scam”, “complaint”, or “review” to see what others are saying. Compare the price with other websites — if it is far lower than usual, it is probably a scam. When buying, use a credit card, as it offers protection by allowing you to dispute charges if you don’t receive the product or it isn’t as described.

According to the Sinch expert, a “quick search for a brand’s support page can land shoppers on a fake site, complete with a chatbot that asks for sensitive information like card details. These bots are convincing and built to steal, especially during key shopping seasons like Black Friday.”

The cybersecurity firm CyberHeroes advises shoppers not to give out personal information unless they started the chat on a trusted website. Always check the website address before clicking any links, and be cautious of pop-ups on unfamiliar pages. It’s also a good idea to use security software to help block fake chatbots, and to report anything suspicious to the company and Action Fraud in the UK.

Exclusive VIP access sales email scams often mimic legitimate marketing tactics. These scams use urgency and exclusivity to exploit the high-demand shopping environment of Black Friday.

“Emails promising early access to secret sales are often phishing attempts. Clicking the link can install malware or steal login credentials,” says Suker.

To avoid them, be cautious of unsolicited emails, verify the sender, hover over links to see the true URL, and be wary of deals that seem too good to be true.

“Scammers are hijacking comment sections and impersonating brands with fake giveaway posts, often promising gift cards, tech gadgets, or exclusive discounts. The rise of conversational commerce means fraudsters are getting more creative and more convincing,” Suker warns.

Which? advises being cautious of social media posts or messages asking you to complete surveys for free products. To check a giveaway, contact the brand using details from its official website. You can also report suspicious posts or ads on social media, and forward scam emails to report@phishing.gov.uk. If you lose money, contact your bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud, or call the police on 101 if you are in Scotland.