Beware: Fraudsters seek to trick you with online Black Friday, Cyber Monday deals

Attention holiday shoppers: It’s not safe searching for deals online.

Check Point Software Technologies, a global leader in cyber security solutions, has issued a new warning about fraud for those using Chrome, Safari, Edge and Firefox, which account for 90% of the browser market.

“Cyber criminals are putting in overtime — with Black Friday and Cyber Monday approaching, threat actors are poised to take advantage of consumers hoping to shop the yearly discounts.

“This includes malicious websites, SEO poisoning and phishing attacks.

The report said “we might be in for a particularly risky holiday window.

“There has been an 89% surge in websites related to Black Friday from the same period last year.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are forecast to rise to a record $75 billion, a 5% rise from last year, according to Bain.

Last year it was $9.8 billion online on Black Friday.

Seventy-six percent of U.S. consumers said they would buy at least half of their holiday purchases online, according to a Bain & Company survey of consumers.

Websites and email offers are often scams.

“Nearly all of these sites impersonate well-known brands, and almost none are classified ‘safe’,” Check Point warns.

Black Friday deals look enticing, readily “tricking a consumer into entering sensitive details, like payment info or a set of credentials, into the fraudulent site.

“Often these websites are simple phishing traps, “passively harvesting user credentials from deal-seekers. The variety of impersonated sites ranges widely, from global behemoths to smaller, but still prominent, boutiques.

“The use of Artificial Intelligence help fraudsters “deliver convincing phishing emails directly to consumer inboxes.

“And there is Quishing, the use of malicious QR codes, “designed to bypass traditional email filters.