Spot holiday sales scams on Black Friday and New Year: fake stores, phishing, pressure tactics, account takeovers. Get practical tips to shop safely now.
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Holiday sales are a golden season not only for shoppers but also for scammers. During mass discount periods such as Black Friday or New Year sales, there is a marked spike in cybercrime. While people chase the best deals, fraudsters race to ambush their wallets. Their playbook keeps evolving: they roll out ever more convincing scams, lean on fake websites and mass mailings, and prey on trust through social engineering. The Pepelats News team has examined the most common traps and how to sidestep them.
One of the classic tricks is spinning up counterfeit sites for well-known brands that look almost identical to the real thing. These pages flaunt huge discounts (up to 90 percent) and demand full prepayment. The result is predictable: the buyer pays and gets nothing. A typical scenario is when someone follows a link to a clone of a popular brand promising an 80–90 percent “shock” price, rushes to pay, and then both the site and the “seller” vanish. Often the link arrives via SMS, messengers or social media and leads to a fake checkout page where card details are harvested on the spot.
Fraudsters love baiting people with supposedly exclusive promotions. Ahead of the holidays, they blast out messages about lotteries, prize draws or coupons for extra bonuses. The link looks like it goes to a retailer, but actually opens a phony page designed to siphon off personal and payment data. Sometimes they inform recipients they have “won a prize” — maybe a gadget or a generous coupon — and then ask to pay a small “delivery fee” or a “tax”. Once the money is sent, the scammers disappear, and there is no prize.
Cybercriminals lean heavily on emotion. A staple tactic is to create a sense of scarcity and hurry. Sites and mailings display countdown timers, lines saying it’s only available today with just minutes left, or claims that dozens of people are viewing the same item right now. The aim is to push you into paying before you think. If you see an unbelievable discount bundled with an ultimatum to buy now, treat it as a red flag. Take a breath before entering your details: legitimate stores don’t demand split-second decisions.
Another ploy is calls or emails allegedly from customer support or a delivery service. The message claims there is a nonexistent issue — a double charge or a payment error. The target is offered a “refund” and asked to dictate card details or transfer funds to a “special” account to get the money back. Once the instructions are followed, the “operator” cuts contact and the money is gone. In another variant, a fake courier calls to “confirm the address” and asks for an SMS code. Sharing that code effectively hands over the keys to a bank account or profile — a shortcut for thieves to raid finances and personal dashboards. There have been cases where callers posing as couriers coax people into revealing SMS codes under the pretext of confirming an order and then drain the card.
Marketplaces aren’t immune. Fraudsters hack real sellers’ accounts and, posing as them, ask buyers to send payment directly to a personal card, bypassing the platform. The buyer complies and is left empty-handed — reversing a transfer to a stranger is next to impossible. Scammers also post fake listings for second-hand goods at improbably low prices. After luring a buyer, they nudge the conversation off the safe platform into a third-party messenger, where they squeeze for details or demand a prepayment. A common example: you spot a “new” smartphone at half the market price. The seller requests a small prepayment “to reserve it” and moves the chat to a messenger. After receiving the money, the “seller” vanishes or keeps inventing reasons for more payments — without delivering anything.
To avoid getting hooked during discount season, it pays to stay vigilant. These steps make a real difference:
Shop on official websites of well-known retailers or through vetted marketplace apps. Unknown stores flaunting impossibly low prices are a serious risk.
Before entering any data, make sure the URL is correct (no extra characters or typos) and starts with https://. Phishing pages often mimic the original but sneak in a small change — an added letter or digit. If the site is oddly slow, displays poorly or is riddled with errors, it’s safer to walk away.
Ignore emails and messages from unknown senders promising discounts and prizes. If an “offer” seems to come from a bank or retailer, don’t click — open the official website in a new tab or find it via search.
Outlandish discounts, demands for instant payment or requests to transfer money by unusual methods (to a personal card, in crypto, via gift cards) are classic warning signs. Real stores rarely sell for pennies without a catch. Don’t get swept up in the frenzy, and remember: free cheese only ever sits in a mousetrap.
If you’re buying from a third-party seller (on a marketplace or via a classified), check their track record. Read reviews on independent sites and look at the account’s creation date. No clear contact details, only generic five-star reviews, or a demand for prepayment to a personal account are all red flags.
Don’t share your full card details, one-time SMS codes or passwords by phone or in chats. Banks and legitimate merchants don’t ask for PINs or passwords. If someone insists, they’re a scammer.
At the height of sales, regularly review bank alerts and statements. At the first hint of fraud — an unfamiliar charge or a suspicious call — contact your bank immediately and, if needed, block your card. The sooner you report it, the better your chances of getting money back and limiting further damage.
During the holiday rush, don’t drop your guard. Scammers bank on our haste and greed, but once you know their tricks, you can shop with confidence. If an offer looks too good to be true, it’s probably a trap. A brief pause to verify can save your money and your data — a small price for peace of mind. Enjoy the bargains, just not at the expense of your security.