Black Friday is almost here, and the shopping holiday brings with it a flood of promotional emails and text messages from retailers promising steep discounts—if you act fast. Scammers take advantage of the blitz by sending their own emails and texts, except their links are designed to phish your personal information or steal your money. Here are some telltale signs of scams to watch out for, and what to do to keep yourself safe.
How to spot a Black Friday scam
Creating a false sense of urgency is a common scammer tactic, and Black Friday scams can take many forms. In 2022, scammers posed as Home Depot, sending emails promising $500 gift cards to a limited number of shoppers as part of a Black Friday deal. The catch: Buyers had to pay a small shipping fee to receive the phony prize.
If you receive an email or text that appears to be from a store you shop at regularly and promises an unusually good deal, think twice. Look at every URL before you click, and keep an eye out for unusual constructions or misspellings. Amaz0n.com is not the same as Amazon.com, for example, and usps.upspb.com is not the US