Don't Fall for Black Friday Scams
As Black Friday is fast approaching and shoppers are on the look out for a bargain make sure you're not getting more than you bargained for.
See our top ten tips below on how to protect yourself from scams this Black Friday period.
- Don't just trust someone who contacts you out of the blue, by call, text or email. Even if they know some basic information about you or claim to be from your bank, your utility provider or even if they say they're calling from the police.
- Scammers always sound genuine and often will have pulled together some basic information on you. Double check by INDEPENDENTLY researching contact details and then contacting the organisation they say they're calling from.
- Never trust any unsolicited contact that asks for bank/financial details.
- Be careful where you shop - go to trusted brands / sites and do your research.
- Shopping via social media platforms? Fake websites can look really slick and convincing. Be careful where you've 'landed' and always double check.
- See an offer that's too good to be true? It probably is and is best avoided.
- If you're buying on-line use a credit card where you can, most major providers insure online purchases. When making online purchases look out for the 'padlock' symbol on the url address bar, especially when entering any payment information.
- Do software updates on your devices. They often have important security updates that can protect you against fraud and theft.
- Don't use the same password across all your digital accounts. Always use a strong password (think about using a password manager if you've lots of accounts) change your password on a regular basis and where you can use two-factor authentication (2FA).
- Received a text or email with a link in? Be careful what you click on as it may contain links to fake websites. Not sure? You can always double check by searching via your own browser.
Also don't forget when you start to receive your parcels of all the bargains you've managed to bag keep an eye on the texts / emails you get from delivery partners. It's easy to loose track of what you've ordered and who's delivering it but there's been a large increase in scams from supposed couriers who you've 'missed a delivery' from or need to make a small extra fee and you then end up getting scammed when you enter your details, or make a small payment. NEVER click on the links in these messages, always independently visit these sites via your own browser and enter your delivery details to verify.
To report any suspected scams visit Action Fraud website here. To report scam text messages forward them to 7726.
