Three out of 4 Black Friday-themed spam emails are scams, in accordance with researchers at Bitdefender. Most of those scams are focusing on customers within the US and Europe.
“This 12 months, 77% of all Black Friday-themed spam (by quantity) analyzed by Bitdefender’s Antispam Lab crew was labeled as scams, whereas solely 22% was recognized as advertising lures—emails designed to drive site visitors to authentic however overly aggressive promotions,” the researchers write.
“In 2023, 7 out of each 10 Black Friday-themed spam emails had been scams, in comparison with 2024, when this determine rose to three out of each 4 emails. This 7% enhance in rip-off prevalence underscores the greed and daring of cybercriminals, who more and more leverage pretend gives and phishing ways to take advantage of client purchasing behaviors and traits.”
Menace actors are tailoring their scams to particular areas, utilizing acquainted social engineering strategies to trick individuals into performing shortly.
“As in our earlier Black Friday rip-off traits evaluation, scammers leaned closely on impersonating trusted manufacturers and leveraging psychological ways similar to urgency and exclusivity,” Bitdefender says.
“Fraudulent emails promised unique or early entry to Black Friday offers and rewards in alternate for survey participation or irresistible reductions on thriller packing containers for submitting cost particulars. Counterfeit Rolex watches, Louis Vuitton baggage, and Ray-Ban sun shades are among the many recurring themes and typical suspects on this 12 months’s Black Friday rip-off agenda, with scammers luring customers with life like web sites and too-good-to-be-true costs.”
Predictably, these scams have steadily elevated within the days forward of Black Friday. Related purchasing scams ought to be anticipated to proceed all through the vacation season, nonetheless.
“Spam exercise surged within the lead-up to Black Friday, with a noticeable uptick beginning in late October,” the researchers write. “In keeping with information gathered between Oct. 1 and Nov. 17, 2024, Black Friday spam charges peaked at over 6% of whole Black Friday Spam e-mail quantity, displaying a major enhance in comparison with early October. The spikes in exercise align with the purchasing season’s momentum as scammers leverage the heightened client curiosity in offers.”
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Bitdefender has the story.