It has been reported that six in 10 (60%) shoppers plan to spend more time researching and comparing prices ahead of Black Friday this year than they have previously, a survey has found. More than a third (37%) say they have regretted not being better prepared ahead of key sales, according to the survey of 2,000 people across the UK for Vodafone.
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As Black Friday looms, retail brands eagerly anticipate profit boosts during their ‘Golden Quarter’, but it’s not all rose-tinted shopping for online bargain hunters. The holidays are arriving early for cybercriminals – sales spikes and digital stampedes mean more opportunity for fraudsters to con unsuspecting consumers, through fake retailer websites, fraudulent card payment functions and social media phishing.
Deloitte found that over half (54%) of consumers plan to buy festive gifts in November and the first two weeks of December, which includes Black Friday. With surges in retail, technology users need to think about fortifying identity checks, to ensure they are protected from cyber threats.
Online shoppers should consider ways they can add digital padlocks to their accounts. Processes like multi-factor authentication, one-time passcodes from banks to authorise larger transactions, and complex login passwords all help maintain identity security. Tripwires for identity permission protect not only against brute force cyber attacks, but also quickly stop breaches in their tracks, and help make shopping as smooth and seamless as possible for consumers.
I hope that the increased time spent researching and comparing prices is also making customers more vigilant about scams. Scams often occur whenever victims are in a hurry, so taking extra time to shop could quell scams to some degree. However, more time spent searching for deals could mean people encounter more scams overall. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. Never contact merchants outside of the marketplace where they’re selling, make sure merchants are reputable, check product descriptions carefully, and avoid clicking on ads.
The ever-rising prices we’re seeing this holiday season has us all thinking twice about whether or not we have the best available “bargain.” However, online shoppers should not be tempted by “too good to be true” deals, offered in online ads, emails, and text messages. Shoppers should beware of clicking links or opening attachments in emails and messages, and should think twice about clicking online ads, even if they appear to be from reputable merchants like Amazon. The bad actors of the world take advantage of the holiday shopping season to try and separate shoppers from their hard-earned money without providing merchandise. They also try to harvest credit card and banking information, as well as other information that can be used or sold to other bad actors.