Cyber Monday: How to spot an online shopping fraud
Many consumers are reaching for their computers, tablets and mobile phones to shop this Cyber Monday in what some experts predict could be the largest online shopping day ever.
“I think you mentioned earlier that $7.9 billion had been sold on Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Well, we’re supposed to hit $6.6 billion today, that should shatter the U.S. record today for online sales,” ZeroFOX CEO James Foster told the FOX Business Network’s Stuart Varney.
Consumers must navigate many risks online. ZeroFOX has found more than 1,300 imitation social media accounts related to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and Foster said “it’s really, really difficult” for consumers to spot a fraud.
“One of the hardest parts about this is they don’t want you to be able to spot it, if you spot it they’ve failed,” Foster said on “Varney & Co.”
According to Foster, the fake websites and social media accounts often try to sell counterfeit goods while in the last year there have been a rising number of websites selling fake coupons.
“That’s actually really taken off this past year. They know what you like, they know the products that you like and they’ll sell you a coupon for $100 off of $20. Of course you would buy that. Then you try to use it and it doesn’t work,” added Foster.