Shoppers warned to be wary of social media scams this Black Friday

Fraud is set to reach an all-time high this Black Friday, with online social media scams the most likely place for fraud to occur, according to new data.

UK shoppers are expected to spend £9.14bn over the four-day Black Friday weekend – a 4.5 per cent increase on last year, according to Globaldata. But fraud is expected to rise even faster: scam attempts in general have increased by 80 per cent in the last three years and identity fraud attempts have increased by 74 per cent, according to a report by Signicat.

Social media has become the battleground for scams, with 72 per cent of scams originating on social shopping platforms, according to Barclays.

This trend is only expected to continue. Tiktok is anticipating one of its biggest years for retail yet, with a projected 58 per cent year-on-year increase in ad spend revenue from retail and ecommerce clients. 

“Black Friday and Cyber Monday are a critical time for online retailers. However, the surge in online traffic also attracts cybercriminals looking to exploit ecommerce platforms,” Tim Ayling, VP EMEA for Imperva said.

“And, with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs), cyber attacks have become more sophisticated and are set to disrupt holiday shopping like we have never seen before,” he added.

Fraud expert at Barclays, Kirsty Adams, said that social media poses a heightened risk for scams due to its tendency to pile shopping pressure on customers via a glut of information.

“Many of us will be overloaded with information during these sales, targeted by the latest ‘hot’ deal wherever we turn, and it can be hard to work out which offers are legitimate,” Adams said.

Cyber fraud has been on the rise for years, with the average claim so far this year exceeding £700, according to Barclays.

Both the volume and value of purchase scam reports in November increased year-on-year, up 23 per cent and 19 per cent respectively, following an established trend. The total volume and value of reported purchase scams has consistently increased each year since 2021.

Last week, the deputy director of Action Fraud, Adam Mercer, warned shoppers to avoid bank transfers, use a credit card for transactions, and take extra time when buying goods during peak events.

“Never feel pressured into buying anything online,” Mercer told the Guardian. “Creating a false sense of urgency is a tell-tale sign of a fraudster.”

GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has also encouraged customers to add an extra layer of protection by setting up two-step verification.