Black Friday, Cyber Monday Scams: How to Check if Websites Are Legitimate [Video]

With the holiday shopping season upon us, experts are reminding consumers to be vigilant about potential Black Friday and Cyber Monday scams.

An increased volume of online shopping during the post-Thanksgiving period means cybercriminals are primed to take advantage of unsuspecting buyers, and analysts from the cybersecurity firm EclecticIQ said earlier this month that they discovered a phishing campaign targeting e-commerce consumers in the U.S. and Europe.

The campaign, which analysts attribute to a financially motivated threat actor in China called SilkSpecter, uses fake Black Friday offers to lure prospective victims. Its goal is to obtain cardholder data, sensitive authentication data, and personally identifiable information from unsuspecting shoppers, EclecticIQ reported.

Phishing—defined as fraudulent activities that attempt to obtain sensitive information through trickery via emails or websites—is a rampant threat during the holiday season. Below are tips on how to avoid scams by checking a website’s legitimacy.