- Black Friday 2025 is fast approaching and the scams are already underway
- Your inbox is probably full of spam, but half of it could be a convincing scam
- There are plenty of ways to stay safe this Black Friday
Scammers love sales season, especially when people are looking for a good deal.
US consumers spent $10.8 billion online during Black Friday 2024, so that’s a rich selection for the less reputable, and a new study from Bitdefender has claimed that of all the Black Friday spam you might have received, more than half (53%) could be classified as a scam.
Unsurprisingly, most scams impersonate Amazon, which often offers too-good-to-be-true discounts during Black Friday sales.
Goodbye bank account
Bitdefender notes that Black Friday spam primarily targets North America, with 60% of emails arriving in a US inbox. Germany (12%), Ireland (7%), South Africa (4%) and the United Kingdom (3%) make up the rest of the list.
Much spam is self-inflicted, with 43% of spam originating from the United States. Interestingly, the Netherlands (14%) and Indonesia (13%) take second and third place for the origin of spam.
Fraudsters are also increasingly adept at impersonating brands through clever campaigns. One example involved scammers posing as United Healthcare to harvest user data with a “Black Friday Smile Upgrade” email offering promotions on Oral-B dental kits.
Aside from Amazon and United Healthcare, bargain hunters should also be especially wary of deals from brands like MediaMarkt, TEMU, IKEA, Kaufland, Grohe, Binance, Louis Vuitton, Jack Daniel’s and even Reese’s.
When it comes to checking whether a promotion is legitimate or not, Bitdefender recommends a few simple checks:
- Check the promotions on the legitimate website first. If not, it may be a scam.
- Scammers know that people are expecting deliveries, so be extra vigilant when you receive delivery updates.
- Tools such as Link Checker from Bitdefender can be used to check if a link is safe.
- Suspicious messages can be checked with Bitdefender Scamio.
- If you’re looking for a great Black Friday deal, make sure you get the best antivirus software active and on the lookout for potential threats.
If you need improved security, take a look at my summary of best Black Friday antivirus deals.
The best antivirus for every budget
