What You Need to Know

Black Friday is just around the corner, and alongside all those tasty deals comes a recipe for scams. Crooks know that would-be deal-hunters will be scouring online storefronts for the lowest prices, and may not have their guard up. They’ll look to pounce on the unsuspecting shopper and serve them up a deal that’s too good to be true.

You may encounter pop-up ads, emails that appear to be legitimate, or even exclusive offers on social media, each one promising a deal that is guaranteed to blow your socks off (or your wallet anyway). Instead of clicking, make sure to do the following:

What You Should Do

Double-check the email address. Most scammers will try to imitate well-known sellers such as Amazon, Walmart, or Best Buy. However, these fake emails will be coming from slightly misspelled addresses (like arnazon, wal.mart, etc.).
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Yes, even on Black Friday, the day infamous for some of the best deals of the year, this old adage still holds water. While some of these incredible deals may be legitimate, chances are much more likely that they’re not, so we recommend steering clear.
Pay attention to count-down timers. Time-sensitive tactics are often employed to make you want to act fast and buy now. Of course, sales like this are counting on you neglecting to think it through and just hoping you make a purchase on instinct. While not an immediate red-flag, timers are not very difficult to make, and are very easy for a scammer to implement.
Look for typos, misspelled words, and unusual sentence structure. This one is often a dead giveaway; any serious retailer will have had their Black Friday promos developed long in advance, and will have gone through rounds of proofreading, editing, and design work to flesh out the perfect product pitch. Almost no scammers take the time to go through their wording a second time, and many of them do not speak English natively. Mistakes like these should send you running for the “delete” button.

Think you are being scammed? Call our scam hotline or email us for help:
(801)-724-6211
scamwatch@invisus.com