Shoppers warned over Black Friday scams
Bargain hunters are being warmed not to be taken in by ‘Black Friday’ shopping scams.
Barclays Bank says last year’s Black Friday season saw a 17% increase in reported frauds – with victims losing an average of £538 each.
Surveys indicate that 38% of people are planning to try and cash in on the Black Friday sales around November 26 this year – with 14% saying they would shop on unfamiliar websites if they had particularly good prices.
The poll also revealed that 12% of consumers would give their PIN to someone if they thought it was their bank and 25% would be likely to help if they were fraudulently asked to participate in an "internal bank investigation".
The bank is urging people to stay vigilant for impersonation scams during and following the sales season.
Despite 70% of respondents claiming they were aware that scammers could target them through text messages, 11% said they would still pay via a link in a text if they thought the message was from a reputable source.
Barclays head of digital safety, Ross Martin, said: "While the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are a great opportunity for consumers to bag a bargain, unfortunately, they create the perfect opportunity for fraudsters to target shoppers. "It’s important to remember that scammers often target victims more than once and use details gathered in the first scam to strike again.
"If you receive a call from someone claiming to be from your bank, hang up and call back either on a trusted number or by dialling 159 the fraud hotline.