Three out of 4 Black Friday-themed spam emails are scams, in keeping with researchers at Bitdefender. Most of those scams are concentrating on customers within the US and Europe.
“This yr, 77% of all Black Friday-themed spam (by quantity) analyzed by Bitdefender’s Antispam Lab workforce was categorized as scams, whereas solely 22% was recognized as advertising and marketing lures—emails designed to drive site visitors to respectable 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% improve in rip-off prevalence underscores the greed and daring of cybercriminals, who more and more leverage pretend presents and phishing ways to use client procuring behaviors and developments.”
Risk actors are tailoring their scams to particular areas, utilizing acquainted social engineering methods to trick folks into appearing rapidly.
“As in our earlier Black Friday rip-off developments evaluation, scammers leaned closely on impersonating trusted manufacturers and leveraging psychological ways equivalent to urgency and exclusivity,” Bitdefender says.
“Fraudulent emails promised unique or early entry to Black Friday offers and rewards in trade for survey participation or irresistible reductions on thriller containers for submitting fee particulars. Counterfeit Rolex watches, Louis Vuitton baggage, and Ray-Ban sun shades are among the many recurring themes and typical suspects on this yr’s Black Friday rip-off agenda, with scammers luring consumers with real looking web sites and too-good-to-be-true costs.”
Predictably, these scams have steadily elevated within the days forward of Black Friday. Comparable procuring scams must 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 big improve in comparison with early October. The spikes in exercise align with the procuring season’s momentum as scammers leverage the heightened client curiosity in offers.”
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Bitdefender has the story.