Black Friday Scams 101: How to Recognize Them and Stay Safe

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Most (un)common Black Friday scams

For the weather’s outside is frightful, I choose to stay inside and add more stuff to my wish list. Yes, you’ve guessed it – Black Friday’s drawing closer. Ready to break that piggy bank for some awesome stuff you’ll probably forget about in a couple of weeks? Me too. The hype’s all too real and, unfortunately, Black Friday, just like any other seasonal ballyhoo, attracts all sorts of crowds, including scammers. Still thinking about buying that new 4K TV or some more PS4 games? Well, that’s what Black Friday is for; I’m just here to tell you how to avoid Black Friday scams. Let’s start.

Why Black Friday?

Is water wet or winter cold? So, I ask you: why to pass up a perfectly good opportunity to rip-off a couple of naïve users who haven’t a clue about online shopping. It doesn’t matter if it’s Father’s Day, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, or the winter solstice – the thicker the crowd, the most likely it is for a pickpocket to be there.

Although the whole shopping fever lasts for only one day, there are plenty of people who are willing to spend serious cash. It makes sense: why give in to the impulse, when you can wait out for a better deal? And, I have to admit, that some of those deals can run pretty hot.

Anyway, scammers are out there and they’re just jumping at the chance of empty your bank account. So, this article being about Black Friday scams, let’s take a closer look at the most common and uncommon scams.

Black Friday scams roundup

Ready? Let’s get this show on the road.

1. Website (insistently) asks you to download its own application

As you probably know, most major retailers have their own apps: AliExpress, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Rakuten, etc. Not much room left for the ‘little guys’, but they keep trying nonetheless. Most of them manage to attract customers by offering items at jaw-dropping discounts or other facilities like free shipping, extended warranty, cashback, and more.

Now, some of these websites will probably ‘talk’ you into downloading their mobile apps. Nothing wrong about. However, not all these retailers are legit. The same goes for the apps. One of the most common tactics scammers use is to create a fake website. Of course, the items listed here would have unrealistically low prices.

So, what happens is that they trick you into giving them by your own free will some of that personal information (debit\credit card number, CVV code, name, address). Once you confirm the order, your data will be forevermore compromised, and that’s the end of the road. That high-value item you’ve waited so long to buy will never arrive. The same thing goes for bogus apps.

2. Website looks (ph)fishy

A variation on the same theme. Cloned websites are the norm when it comes to stealing credentials. They’re very hard to identify and that usually happens only when it’s too late. Phishing with spiked websites is a year-round practice, but they usually bloom during the festive season. Since Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Thanksgiving are just around the bend, you can be sure that scam sites will increase in number. There are a couple of ways to figure out if a website is real or fake, but I will be discussing them in the upcoming section.

3. Unrealistically low bargains

We already covered the fake websites/apps that reel in their victims with incredibly cheap items. This isn’t exactly what you might call brand-spanking-new. The technique’s been around for centuries and still in use because guess what? It works! The approach is not rocket science: using fake apps or websites, the scammers post ads for items belonging to big brands (Nike, Addidas, Fossil, Cartier, Hugo Boss, etc.) at incredibly low prices.

So, if an item, say an iPhone 11 Pro, goes for $100 whereas the regular price is around 1G, then you’re probably dealing with a scam. Last week, I was looking to buy a pair of Bluetooth in-ears for my phone. I would have loved nothing more than to get my hands on a pair of Bose or JBLs, but can’t really afford them. Anyway, while casually looking at my newsfeed on Facebook, I came across this ad from some auto shop or whatever offering JBL wireless in-buds for free!

In exchange for your phone number, email & physical address you would get a free pair of headphones, which usually run for 200 bucks! This is one of many examples. In fact, if I were to fire up my Facebook right, I’ll probably run into two or three of those fake websites. The Romans had a saying for this: caveat emptor!

4. Bait-and-switch

You’ll see a lot of these until the whole Black Friday fever subsidies. In more common terms, bait-and-switch is when a scammer attempts to harvest your personal information by flashing an expensive item before your eyes. The item will be everything you ever dreamed of. However, once the order is placed you will discover, much to your discontent, that the shop’s out of stock. The vendor feels so ‘bad’ about your misfortune, that he’s ready to give you a very special discount on a similar item. Do not accept this compromise: in all foreseeable outcomes, you will end up with a low-quality item. Also, if you choose to pay online by credit or debit card, there’s a fair chance that the item won’t be delivered.

The same thing may happen in brick-and-mortar stores, although I’m not inclined to call this a scam. It’s more like a misunderstood marketing practice – a salesperson will tell you that the item you were looking for is out of stock and will direct you to a similar one. It’s the same routine – you will be offered a low-quality or fake item.
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