Cyber Monday is a great opportunity to score amazing deals and save money during the holiday season, but it’s also a prime time for scammers looking to steal your money and personal information. One common tactic involves creating fake websites that mimic legitimate retailers, complete with enticing products and prices. These fraudulent sites lure shoppers into placing orders, only to use their payment information for malicious purposes. To maintain the illusion, scammers often send confirmation emails and fake shipping notifications. Ultimately, the product never arrives, and they rely on you forgetting about the purchase.

Even when a situation isn’t outright fraud, there are still deceptive practices to watch for. Some retailers manipulate pricing to create the illusion of a sale. They might inflate prices for a brief period before Cyber Monday, then revert to the original price while advertising a “discount.” This practice makes the deal seem better than it actually is, leaving consumers thinking they’ve saved money when, in reality, the price hasn’t changed.