The ads for the best sales of the season and Black Friday deals are aimed at attracting those day-after Thanksgiving shoppers. Cyber security experts are sounding the alarm that scammers are now using AI to turn it into so-called “Black Fraud Day.”
Richard Horne, chief executive of the National Cyber Security Center in the U.K., said scammers are targeting bargain hunters by using artificial intelligence and becoming more sophisticated. The shady tactics include fake ads online, often for clothing and tech products. These are generally social media ads with huge discounts.
Users should be on the look out for phony links that direct users to websites that look real but are really after their personal and financial information. Often, the web link is slightly different from the real one and consumers can have a hard time recognizing the difference.
Consumer experts also said be careful when buying gift cards online. Fake gift cards are now a favorite of scammers. Gift cards make it almost impossible for the victim to get their money back. Instead, experts advise shoppers to go directly to the company website or buy gift cards at the physical store.
Another favorite of thieves is the fake delivery alert that shows up in a person’s email. Once the person clicks on the link that is attached, the scammer steals their information.
The British security chief says customers across the pond lost the equivalent of $14.5 million to thieves during the holiday shopping season last year and his country saw 16,000 reports of online scams.
