‘Be on guard’: Warning issued as 3 million Aussies scammed during weekend sales
Three million Australians have been scammed on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, with numbers increasing as the sales event gets larger and scams become more sophisticated.
Nearly 33% of Aussies have experienced an online shopping scam in the past, according to survey figures released by NordVPN.
This figure is up from 26% last year, showing a steep incline in the number of shoppers being duped. Worst still, every third Australian who has ever been scammed while shopping did so during Black Friday or Cyber Monday.
With 41% of Australians indicating they will be taking part in the sales, it’s no wonder the wolves are out.
Despite our awareness, it seems that bargains and deals trump common sense, with 90% of Australians saying they are willing to hand out personal details in exchange for a bonus gift, discount, or free service. This figure actually increases to 91% for those who have already been scammed before – suggesting we just don’t learn.
“We have seen in the past that cybercriminals become very active during the shopping season, so 11 million Aussies who plan to take advantage of the deals this year should better be on guard,” says Adrianus Warmenhoven, cybersecurity expert at NordVPN.
“The main thing we encourage people to remember this shopping season is if the offer looks too good to be true or a lot of personal information is requested for you to get a deal — you are probably being scammed.”
NordVPN have provided the below ways for Australians to best protect themselves from scams. Don’t worry, it doesn’t involve purchasing any of their software.
Make sure you only give as much information as needed. A legitimate website will only request the information needed to make a transaction and ship your order.
Check that the URL is right. Making sure you’re in the right online store could be the difference between entering your card details at “Nike.com” and “n1ke.com.” This small variance in URLs leaves a huge opportunity for hackers and scammers to land you on a malicious website.
Beware of shortened URLs. If you stumble across an ad for a bargain with a shortened URL, try checking out the company’s site by entering their address manually. If you can’t seem to find the deal from the ad manually, you might have saved yourself from a scam.
Avoid shopping on public Wi-Fi. It’s generally best to avoid shopping online using public Wi-Fi networks because public Wi-Fi typically exhibits poor security and is often scanned by hackers to breach weak connections. If you lack alternatives, VPNs are a way to encrypt your connection and protect your data.
Use tools to protect your online shopping experience. In the same ways hackers use AI to automate their attacks, users can use tools to identify fishy online shopping websites. Tools like NordVPN’s Threat Protection help flag suspicious webpages and protect users from being scammed.
Monitor your bank statements. One of the best ways to ensure you aren’t being scammed is by monitoring your bank statements. Doing this allows you to not only keep track of purchases and costs but can also help you be quick to respond in case of a suspicious transaction.
Last week, the ACCC and its National Anti-Scam Centre warned of an increase in websites impersonating popular Aussie retail brands.
“Scammers are opportunistic criminals who will try to take advantage of people doing their Christmas shopping online during the upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Monday period,” ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said.
“We have seen an alarming increase in reports of fake online shopping website scams, which use the latest technology to look like genuine, well-known Australian fashion and footwear labels.”
“A recent, disturbing development is that scammers are paying for their fake websites to appear at the top of your internet search. This means you can’t necessarily trust the first listing you see.
“As an alternative, consumers may wish to familiarise themselves with the site addresses of their favourite brands and navigate there directly or scroll down the search results to ensure they find the real site.”
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Nathan Jolly is the Deputy Editor of Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
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