Between fraudulent emails, clone sites and false promotions, cybercriminals are back for Black Friday. We spotted three scam campaigns spoofing famous brands.
A week full of offers for Black Friday, but also scams awaits you. According to data published at the end of November by the Bitdefender company’s anti-spam laboratory, almost 77% of Black Friday-related emails in 2024 are scams, marking a notable increase of 7% compared to 2023. Malicious campaigns include various stratagems, ranging from classic phishing imitating famous companies to malware designed to steal personal and banking information.
France represents one of the main targets globally, notes the Bitdefender report. One of the techniques most used by cybercriminals remains brand theft. They exploit consumer trust in popular brands like Amazon, Fnac or Shein to create an illusion of legitimacy. Once on these sites, users are encouraged to provide their login credentials, banking details or purchase non-existent products.
Black Friday discounts on non-existent Louis Vuitton bags
Cyberattacks: when humans are the weak link
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A particularly dangerous fake email from Fnac
Another scam usurps the Fnac brand and offers various technological objects, including mixer robots for the kitchen. Apart from classic data thefts, if you fall for it, these messages can be particularly dangerous. Bitdefender has noticed that in Spain, these emails deploy the Grandoreiro banking Trojan. The attachments contain scripts capable of downloading and executing the malware on victims’ devices.
The Shein mystery box that steals your data for Black Friday
Finally, one of the most invasive campaigns remains the one that usurps Shein. The criminals have probably recovered numerous leaked databases to target as many Internet users as possible. The email can include your first and last names to provide more legitimacy. We reveal to you the secret of this so-called Shein box: it sends all the computers you have entered to hackers.
How to spot fake emails during Black Friday?
- Check the sender’s address : A first indicator is often the email address. If it does not correspond to the official domain of the company or bank, be careful. For example, generic addresses, composed of many letters, or emails from private domains (Gmail, Hotmail) are red flags.
- Analyze site behavior : Cloned sites are generally limited in their operation. If only your credentials are requested and the other tabs or functions are inaccessible, it is probably fraud.
- Favor direct access : Rather than clicking on a link received by email, connect directly via the official website or application of the brand whose discounts you are looking for.
Source: www.numerama.com
