How to avoid Black Friday traps
Plan your bargain buying carefully – and resist temptation, say the retail experts. By
Shoppers beware! Black Friday is around the corner and those discounts might be tempting. You need to make sure your debt stays under control and you don’t fall victim to a scam.
The statistics show that South Africans love a good Black Friday special, with Bankserv Africa finding that the total value of 2021 Black Friday transactions was a mammoth R3.3-billion – 17% up from 2020.
Ilonka Badenhorst, managing director at Waspa (Wireless Application Service Providers Association) warns that, in today’s digital world, even your favourite retailer is not immune to data theft.
“Phishing attacks increase by as much as 336% around Black Friday, which means you are more at risk to email, text and social media scams than ever before,” she says.
In the lead-up to Black Friday and the festive season, you might be bombarded with emails asking you to click on links or open attachments of amazing deals.
“If this is not from your regular newsletter, or from a company who you have shared your details with, rather stay safe than sorry; delete the mail and don’t share personal information in return for vouchers, prizes or even gift cards,” she says.
“While South Africans are keen to take advantage of the numerous specials on offer, money is tight and every cent needs to work as hard as it can,” says Susan Steward, spokesperson for Budget Insurance.
The education and communication manager at the National Credit Regulator, Poppy Kweyama, echoes this, saying though it may make sense to take advantage of Black Friday sales and discounts to save money, unplanned purchases driven by excitement, impulse and fear of missing bargains can increase temptation to buy on credit when you haven’t budgeted and don’t have cash.
“Irresponsible use of credit is not only expensive, but risky. When you consider the interest and fees on the credit, the costs increase, [and] you are not actually saving money,” she warns. Kweyama adds that if you are prone to impulse buying or are illdisciplined, you should stay at home, and not go online shopping either.
Duane Nicol, senior product manager and cybersecurity expert at Mimecast, says a red flag indicating a scam is the offer of an extremely high discount. “If you receive an email offer for 70% off a must-have item, proceed with caution and verify the price on the company website,” he says, adding that suspicious emails should be reported to company security teams and banks, rather than just ignored.
“When email threats go unreported it raises the risk level for everyone else. Conversely, the more we share emerging email threats, the easier it is for everyone to become aware of the threat and take action to avoid any risks,” he says.
Tips for Black Friday/Cyber Monday: ⬤ Don’t get taken in by the hype.
Don’t fall into the trap of believing Black Friday is the only time for a good deal. Do your research and compare where necessary to make sure you really are getting the best price. Use sites such as pricecheck.co.za.
Set up online accounts in advance.
Go to sites of retailers you are likely to buy from, and set up an online account in advance. This will include setting up your delivery address and login details (username and password), so you can buy quickly when deals go live.
Plan what you can afford. The last thing you want is to go into December with debt and start off the new year on a poor financial footing.
Make a list of things you need and prioritise those. Things that you want – luxuries – need to be second in line.
Ill-considered purchases can throw you off budget. Leave items in your favourites list or cart for 24 hours before going through with the purchase. This gives you time to rationalise the purchase. Be prepared to step away.
You may have some points, discounts or cash-back offers due to you. Use these to your advantage.
Keeping up to date with favourite shopping sites gets you news on special deals.