It’s Black Friday month, and whilst that’s great for bagging a bargain, it’s also a prime time to get scammed.
Google has just issued an important update, and anyone going online shopping this month would be wise to pay close attention. The yearly calendar has just ticked into November and that means almost all of the world’s biggest retailers are launching their Black Friday deals. That’s great news for anyone wanting to grab a bargain, but it also offers scammers the perfect opportunity to attack unsuspecting shoppers.
In fact, Google’s latest fraud and scams advisory is warning that cyber crooks often increase their activity around these times of the year.
“Scammers tend to increase fraudulent activity during major holiday and shopping periods, such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, by exploiting heightened consumer demand and urgency,” Google explained.
“These seasonal campaigns are designed to lure unsuspecting shoppers with deceptive offers, leading to widespread financial theft and data compromise.”
Those heading online or checking their Gmail inbox must now be on alert for deals or alerts that simply don’t feel right or are just too good to be true.
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“Scammers employ a broad range of sophisticated tactics to create and promote fake online storefronts that appear as sponsored links and impersonate well-known brands, run deceptive ad campaigns, such as hijacking competitor brand terms for Black Friday sales or promoting misleading “too good to be true” discounts on social media platforms,” Google confirmed.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are also prime times to get caught out by so-called smishing or phishing campaigns.
Phishing is a type of cyberattack in which a criminal tries to trick people into revealing sensitive information—such as passwords, credit card numbers, or personal data—by pretending to be a trustworthy source.
One of the biggest threats during the sales are emails that claim a parcel has been missed or a prize has been won.
Explaining more, Google said: “This period also sees a surge in targeted phishing and smishing campaigns, where scammers impersonate delivery services to demand fake redelivery fees, or promote fake prizes and rewards.”
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Google continues to fight back against the scammers with new technology that can block fake emails or unofficial websites but it’s still a good idea to stay alert.
“This shopping season, Google is fighting package tracking scams with new protections. Users of Google Pixel 9 and later devices who opt-in to Enhanced Protection in Chrome will get extra defense via local Gemini models and Safe Browsing,” the US tech company confirmed.
“Additionally, we recently shared new protections against these types of scams for Google Messages users.”