Black Friday deals are here, and so are online shopping scams. Use these tips to stay safe

Black Friday deals are already hitting your favorite stores, but before you start piling up your online shopping cart, make sure you’re doing everything you can to avoid getting scammed.

After eyeing that new Keurig for months or spotting a major flash sale on winter gear, Black Friday savings can be easy to indulge in.

Although the occasion is supposed to help consumers rack up savings on items from clothing to houseware to gaming consoles and more, falling into online shopping traps is a sure way to lose your money and be left without those beloved gifts you hoped to snag well before Christmas arrives.

Even worse, hackers can sell your private information to others or use it to shop for themselves.

When is Black Friday?

Black Friday is always observed on the Friday after Thanksgiving and is on Friday, Nov. 24, this year.

Despite this date, consumers can find Black Friday deals much earlier than Nov. 24.

Similarly, Cyber Monday is always held on the Monday after Thanksgiving and will be observed on Monday, Nov. 27, this year.

How popular is shopping online for Black Friday?

Forbes reports that 16.4% of retail purchases in the U.S. are expected to take place online in 2023. While the days of camping out at local malls and swarming storefronts aren’t completely over, famous retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Apple, eBay and Target are the companies leading e-commerce sales.

In 2022, 87.12 million people shopped online for Black Friday, with online shoppers spending $9.12 billion. On Cyber Monday last year, 77 million people shopped online deals, spending a total of $11.3 billion.

This is more than the $5.3 billion spent on Thanksgiving and the $3.14 billion spent on Veterans Day in 2022 combined, according to Forbes.

How much money do consumers lose to online hackers?

Now that cold weather is here, the convenience of virtually staking out Black Friday deals from the comfort of your cozy home is enticing, but it also comes with the threat of online scammers stealing your information, taking your money or hacking your private accounts.

In 2022, online retailers lost $41 billion to e-commerce fraud, with that number expected to hit $48 billion this year, according to Forbes.

The Federal Trade Commission reports that consumers lost nearly $8.8 billion in fraud in 2022, a 30% increase from 2021. The second-highest reported loss came from imposter scams, with losses of $2.6 billion reported.

Of the 2.4 million fraud reports the FTC received from consumers last year, online shopping scams were the second most reported fraud activity behind imposter scams. The FTC also received more than 1.1 million reports of identity theft in 2022.

What are the most common online shopping scams?

Three common ways hackers can take advantage of online shoppers are creating fraudulent sites and email messages, intercepting insecure transactions and targeting vulnerable computers, according to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Cyber attackers can create malicious websites or emails that appear to be legitimate stores you are familiar with but are in fact fake. The same tactic is used by hackers pretending to be charities looking for support after natural disasters or during the holidays. The goal is to get consumers to enter their personal and financial information on the fake channels created by cyber attackers.

If an online retailer does not use encryption on their site, a hacker may be able to intercept your information as it is transmitted during checkout.

For those of you who skip out on malware protection software for your computers and frequently ignore warning messages about unsecure internet connections and unsafe sites to visit, your laptop may be lacking safety measures to prevent an attacker from gaining access to your device and all of your sensitive information stored on it.

Shoppers who browse from mobile devices and online vendors also should be cautious when it comes to security measures in place on their software.

How to protect yourself from online shopping scams

Despite the ways hackers can gain access to sensitive information consumers share with online shopping sites, there are many ways shoppers can protect themselves and avoid fraudulent activity and identity theft.

Here are seven tips from the CISA for staying safe while shopping online:

Only shop with reputable vendors

Social media sites frequently advertise new online stores that are unnervingly targeted perfectly at your interests. It might seem enticing to browse through and eventually buy, but make sure you are interacting with a reputable, established vendor before providing any personal or financial information.

Website legitimacy can be verified by viewing a site’s certificate information, namely the “issued to” information, but even then, hackers can obtain site certificates for malicious websites to appear more authentic. If it looks legitimate but is a website you haven’t come across before, keep a record of the vendor’s phone numbers and physical addresses in case there are issues while checking out or with the bill.

Make sure your information is being encrypted

Many websites use secure sockets layer to encrypt information, a security protocol that provides privacy, authentication and integrity to internet communications.

Indications that your submitted information will be encrypted include a uniform resource locator (URL) that begins with “https:” instead of “http:” and a padlock icon. If the padlock icon in the URL is closed, the information is encrypted. The location of the icon varies by browser and can be found to the right of the address bar on some or at the bottom of the window on others, so make sure the icon is in the appropriate location for your browser and not a fake padlock icon created by a hacker.

Be wary of emails requesting information

Some hackers attempt to get information by sending emails to customers requesting that they confirm a purchase or verify account information.

Legitimate business will not solicit this type of sensitive information through email, according to the CISA, so you should not provide the requested information if asked. Instead of clicking on a provided link in an unsolicited email from a business, directly log on to the authentic website by typing the address yourself.

If you are still concerned about any potential mishaps with your account information on the platform, contact the business directly via phone, online chat support or other avenues directly promoted by the website of the business.

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Use a credit card to shop

Credit card charges have legal protections in place to limit a consumer's liability for fraudulent activity that debit cards may not.

Using a debit card to shop means money is drawn directly from a bank account and unauthorized charges could leave you short on funds to pay other bills. To minimize risk, use a single, low-limit credit card to make online purchases and use a credit card when using a payment gateway like PayPal, Google Wallet or Apple Pay.

Check settings on shopping apps

If you prefer to shop online through apps instead of in-browser, investigate what those apps do with your data and how they keep it secure.

The CISA reports that there is no legal limit on your liability with money stored in a shopping app or on a gift card. Unless otherwise stated under the terms of service, you are responsible for all charges made through your shopping app.

Keep tabs on billing statements

After an online shopping spree, it’s easy to forget the exact amount spent at multiple stores or remember if you actually purchased that new crockpot that somehow made it onto your billing statement.

Make note of your purchases by keeping copies of confirmation pages. Compare these to your bank statements to ensure there are no discrepancies. If there are questionable charges, report them immediately.

Review privacy policies

Before you hit checkout and enter your sensitive information, check the retailer’s privacy policy to see how the website will store and use your information.

If something gives you pause or sounds fishy, do not go through with the transaction or contact the retailer directly for clarification.

Got a tip or a story idea? Contact Krys'tal Griffin at kgriffin@delawareonline.com.   

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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Tips for fraud prevention, safety when Black Friday shopping online