- Black Friday sees a huge spike in spam calls and scam attempts
- Luckily, there are ways to protect yourself this shopping season.
- Uswitch has provided 5 useful tips on how to defeat scammers
Black Friday Deals It's nice and real here, and it can be very easy to get a little carried away by all the savings on offer. But pulling the trigger on a deal that's too good to be true can have serious consequences, so it's important to make sure you don't fall victim to scammers and scammers out to get your precious card details.
According to price comparison site Uswitch and new research from Bitdefendercons and rip-offs tend to spread around Black Friday. The number of scam messages at this time of year increases by 300% compared to the monthly average from August to October, and in December the situation gets even worse with the number of scam messages increasing by a whopping 500%. According to Bitdefender, social media is also now a major channel for fraud in the UK.
To help you stay safe, Uswitch has outlined five ways to avoid scams and frustrate scammers. Following these tips should give you a chance to keep your hard-earned money in your account and avoid falling into the hands of scammers.
The first suggestion is to configure two-factor authentication for online stores using one of best authentication apps. This requires additional means of verifying your identity—for example, by entering a unique code sent to one of your devices after you enter your password—and makes it much more difficult for a scammer to access your account without physical access to your phone or computer. This way, even if scammers somehow get your login information, they still won't be able to break into your account.
Secondly, a popular trick by scammers is also to impersonate the website of a reputable retailer in the hope that you will be too blinded by the savings on offer to notice that you are in a shady location. Always check the website address carefully and Never click on links sent in unexpected emails, calls or text messages.. Instead, directly visit the seller's web address to ensure it is genuine, and be sure to check reviews and testimonials before parting with your money.
Hell of a spam call
Aged artificial intelligence (AI)Fraudsters now have a new set of tools at their disposal. One of the most powerful is deepfakewhere scammers can convincingly imitate real voices, including those of your friends and family, to steal your money. If the call seems rushed or unexpected, hang up and call the person back using a number you know is genuine. This way, you can avoid what could be an elaborate and elaborate hoax.
Fourth, if you find that you are receiving too many spam calls (fake or not), your best bet is to use a call blocking tool it stops unwanted and suspicious calls. Many smartphones have them built-in. AppleiOS 26 added this recentlywhile Android has been able to filter calls for some time now. There are a number third party apps that can block spammersand it is always a good idea to report this unwanted contact to the authorities.
The latest advice is that UK Black Friday shoppers register in Telephone Preference Service (TPS). Similar service in the USA – National Do Not Call Registry. This is not a guaranteed way to stop spam calls, but it does legally prevent companies from contacting you for sales or marketing while your name is on this do not call list. It's unlikely to prevent everything, but it's worth a try.
Try these methods and you'll have a much better chance of staying safe and avoiding scams this Black Friday. Be careful to check everything before you hit the buy button, and remember that if a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is.
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