The Black Friday, Cyber Monday scams to avoid this year

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It is time for the annual tradition of Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, with shoppers frantically competing to snag the best deals ahead of the busy holiday shopping season.

However, the major sales events also provide prime opportunities for cybercriminals, warned Michael Dinich, the founder of the personal finance site Wealth of Geeks.

“Fraudsters are becoming increasingly clever as technology evolves, and during this busy shopping period, it provides the perfect opportunities to exploit the increased volume of transactions and potentially catch shoppers off guard,” Dinich said in a statement.

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Here are some of the most common scams to watch out for over the shopping season.

Scammers will sometimes email shoppers claiming their billing information is incorrect and urgently needs to be updated, in an effort to get them to enter their bank details into a fake website.

Instead, shoppers tap into the store directly to make sure they’re getting valid information, Wealth of Geeks advised.

As shoppers search for popular items during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, fake internet sites promote deals on products that are ultimately illegitimate, tricking shoppers into paying for items they’ll never get, and revealing their payment information.

Wealth of Geeks suggested shoppers confirm the legitimacy of products and sellers through the Better Business Bureau.

Like the rest of the year, shoppers looking to get deals this weekend should be wary of phishing emails, which seek to trick them into revealing sensitive data through malicious links.

Scammers send fake package tracking notifications via an attachment or email link, which can be used to infect buyers’ devices with malware or direct them to phishing websites.

Wealth of Geeks noted that valid stores will not send tracking numbers in an email attachment and suggested buyers determine tracking data through the seller’s website.

Shoppers should be wary of direct messages with links to supposedly wonderful Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, Wealth of Geeks warned.

Scammers imitate the URLs of retailers’ online pages to trick shoppers into clicking on links that may simply expose their devices to malware.

Instead, shoppers should go directly to a retailer’s website to confirm they in fact are offering a deal, according to Wealth of Geeks.

After the busy weekend shopping for groceries, many Americans also participate in Giving Tuesday. However, scammers try to cheat well-intentioned efforts to make donations with fake charities.

Wealth of Geeks said shoppers typically can spot fake charities through their payment methods because false ones often only accept gift cards, wire transfers and cryptocurrency.

Scammers sometimes impersonate social media profiles to trick shoppers into offering their personal information or buying counterfeit goods.

Shoppers should check for verified social media accounts that have larger followings before clicking on a profile, Wealth of Geeks advised.

Sellers sometimes participate in “review exchange” clubs, offering goods in return for generous and often misleading reviews of their products on sites like Amazon, according to Wealth of Geeks.

To locate more accurate reviews, buyers compare reviews from several official retailers.

Amid the weekend’s sales, shoppers should beware of unauthorized sellers who may not properly display, package, handle or ship products correctly, which can make it more difficult to make returns or exchanges.

Given the popularity of gift cards during the holiday season, scammers sometimes attempt to trick shoppers into purchasing empty or stolen gift cards.

Wealth of Geeks suggests shoppers only purchase gift cards from retailers’ official stores or websites.

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