British bargain hunters have been placed on high alert due to a surge in shopping scams.
With the Black Friday sales now in full-swing, and the likes of EE offering its "best ever price" on broadband plans, Amazon offering to pay £10 to anyone who takes part in its Audible sale, Virgin Media giving away full-fibre broadband and Disney+ until early next year, and much more, there's no shortage of genuine deals to secure. But with the increased shopping activity... cybercriminals are waiting in the wings to try and ensnare you.
According to new data from NordVPN, visits to fraudulent websites skyrocketed by more than a third in October. The firm — known for its VPN and malware and scam protection tools — blocked 13.4 million attempted connections to fraudulent websites last month alone. That represented a 35% increase compared to September, where 9.9 million visits were blocked.
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Security experts from NordVPN have issued an urgent warning, since this concerning trend is likely to worsen in the days before Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. Here are key ways to spot fake online shops, according to cybersecurity experts:
- Check for clear contact information, including a physical address and phone number
- Review the website's privacy policies and terms, especially regarding returns and refunds
- Be wary of unusual payment methods like wire transfers or cryptocurrency
- Research the retailer online and look for reviews
- Watch for poor grammar, low-quality images, or broken links
- Be suspicious of unrealistic discounts or deals that seem too good to be true
- Avoid sites requesting excessive personal information to access deals
According to recent research from YouGov, nearly a third of Brits (32%) are planning to shop during Black Friday this year — equivalent to 16.9 million people. A further 19% of UK consumers intend to seek deals on Cyber Monday, which falls on December 2, 2024.
Previous research by NordVPN revealed that almost a third of British consumers have fallen victim to scams during major shopping events like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or Boxing Day sales. This amounts to approximately 12 million UK consumers who have been affected by shopping-related fraud during these peak retail periods.
NordVPN has recently expanded its cybersecurity offerings with a new ID theft protection tool called NordProtect, designed to help users recover from identity theft incidents. The service includes up to $1M coverage for identity theft recovery costs and legal expenses, alongside secure credit monitoring and 24/7 dark web monitoring.
Adrianus Warmenhoven, a cybersecurity advisor at NordVPN, told GB News that the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools has supercharged scammers' ability to create convincing fake shops and defraud bargain hunters. He explained: ”Cybercriminals use these tools to quickly, easily, and efficiently create fake shops and increase their capabilities to scam people looking for the best deals.
“Sometimes criminals build up fake shops to collect payment card details and personal information, but sometimes this leads to direct financial loss — customers pay for products which they never get or sometimes get only the photo of the goods they purchased.”
Fraudsters employ sophisticated tactics to impersonate legitimate retailers, including clever domain name tricks. One common technique involves subtle URL modifications, such as replacing "Amazon" with "Arnason" to deceive shoppers.
Criminals have also created convincing imitations of well-known brands, like the notorious fake shop "Kardecian.com". More recently, scammers have begun using URL shorteners to hide suspicious elements of their web addresses, making phishing websites appear more trustworthy.
Some fraudulent sites also offer counterfeit products, often advertising high-end designer brands at suspiciously low prices.
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Recent independent audits have confirmed NordVPN's effectiveness in protecting against online threats. Testing by German firm AV-TEST ranked NordVPN's Threat Protection Pro as the top tool for blocking malicious sites, successfully detecting 83.42% of dangerous links.
The feature also received the highest AAA rating from West Coast Labs, achieving a 99.8% detection rate for high-threat malware.
"These results validate our consistent commitment to providing comprehensive protection against a wide range of online threats," says Domininkas Virbickas, head of development at Threat Protection.
The tool is available to NordVPN subscribers using Windows and macOS devices.
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