Kaya 959 Reporter
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are almost here and a great time for scammers
This time of the year is a perfect environment that provides the perfect conditions for global consumers to fall for scam deals or buy products that aren’t quite what they expected.
Fake retailers, social media scams and missing package scams are among the common frauds to watch for this holiday season.
Also Read: Kaya Biz: Credit applications goes up every year during Black Friday – reports TransUnion
Heino Gevers, who is the Mimecast Cyber Security Expert spoke to Gugulethu Mfuphi on Kaya Biz on what consumers should look out for when shopping online.
Few tips on how you can protect yourself from Online Fraud this Black Friday
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Revisit Your Password Habits
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Don’t believe every amazing deal you see
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Social Media Giveaways
Scammers are also using social media to lure you in. You should always be wary of social media accounts without a blue checkmark (platforms use these to verify a real page from copycats) and watch for typos and accounts with little other content. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube are becoming perfect place for online deception, don’t be caught of guard, if its too good to be true, it probably isn’t true.
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Delivery services
With the increase of online shopping, consumers are also urged to be very careful when it come to delivery services as this is also a fertile ground for fraud. This is more apparent when its comes to missing deliveries.
Never click a link or call back a number from an unexpected delivery notice. Scammer us fake notification, saying they are someone from a reputable delivery service about a shipment issue, only to be scammed.
Also Read: Safety tips for participating in Black Friday sales in South Africa
Lastly, online scammers are equally excited about Black Friday. Shop on legitimate sites (look for a padlock icon preceding the website URL), read customer reviews, and always protect your personal financial information.


