Citizens Advice South Lincolnshire offers top tips to avoid scammers on Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Every month Citizens Advice South Lincolnshire answers your questions.

This month the question is: Everywhere I look I see adverts for upcoming sales - Black Friday and Cyber Monday ‘deals’ are jumping out at me from all directions. Some of the prices seem too good to be true - how can I be sure I really am getting a good deal and not being scammed?

And their answer?

You’re not the only one eager to bag a bargain. The busiest shopping time of the year is also a busy time for cyber criminals who use the spike in spending to disguise their scams as legitimate shopping sites.

Fraudsters are also taking advantage of AI advances to help them produce accurate and professional-looking content to trick victims into giving away their financial details.

It sounds like you’re aware there are risks when buying online and that scammers will try to tempt consumers with special offers, fake reviews and sought-after items at rock bottom prices. The good news is there are ways you can protect yourself and shop safely.

Here Citizens Advice senior consumer expert, Kate Hobson, shares her top five tips to make sure you don’t end up with more, or less, than you bargained for during this busy shopping season.

1. Make sure you don’t feel rushed. Scammers will often create a sense of urgency by claiming it’s a limited offer or price which encourages you to act without taking as much time to consider the purchase.

2. Know who you are buying from – if buying from a company you have not used before, check reviews and previous customers’ feedback. If in doubt, don’t buy.

3. Be wary of suspicious web links. These may direct you to fake (but realistic looking) websites. It is better to type in the website address yourself.

4. Don’t share any one-time codes that you’re sent when shopping online. These codes are used to confirm that you’re the one making the purchase, so don’t share them with anyone.

5. Avoid paying anyone you don’t know by bank transfer. Paying by credit card for single items costing £100 and over gives you legal protection if the goods do not arrive, are faulty, or do not match the description. Paying by credit or debit card for orders costing less than £100 also gives you protection using your card provider’s voluntary ‘Chargeback’ scheme.

If you’re worried that something you’ve seen online might be a scam, you can contact the Citizens Advice Consumer line by calling 0808 223 1133 or visit https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer for more information.

You can also call Adviceline on 0808 278 7996 to speak to a trained adviser. We are here to help you find a way forward with the problems that you face.

Changes to our Bourne service

Our service at Bourne changed on October 21, 2024. We now run a service at Wake House on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday to help the residents of Bourne. Further details of our services can be found on our website (www.citizensadvicesouthlincs.org.uk). We would like to thank Bourne United Charities, The Len Pick Trust and Bourne Town Council for funding the service and Lincolnshire County Council and South Holland and South Kesteven District councils for their ongoing support for our work