{"id":17424,"date":"2025-05-21T10:32:43","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T14:32:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/?post_type=is-it-scam&#038;p=17424"},"modified":"2025-05-12T10:40:50","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T14:40:50","slug":"is-black-friday-a-scam","status":"publish","type":"is-it-scam","link":"https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/is-it-scam\/is-black-friday-a-scam\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Black Friday a Scam?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><h2>Table of Contents<\/h2><nav><ul><li><a href=\"#what-is-black-friday\">What Is Black Friday?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#is-black-friday-a-scam\">Is Black Friday a Scam?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#so-should-you-shop-on-black-friday\">So, Should You Shop On Black Friday?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#how-to-safely-shop-on-black-friday\">How to Safely Shop On Black Friday\u00a0<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re thinking of taking advantage of Black Friday, you need to know: Is Black Friday a scam?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Below, we explain whether Black Friday is a scam and discuss some steps you can take to improve your safety when shopping on this day.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-is-black-friday\">What Is Black Friday?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Black Friday is a day when many shops hold sales with big discounts. It takes place every Friday after Thanksgiving in the US.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"531\" src=\"https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/blackfriday-1-1024x531.png\" alt=\"Target Black Friday\" class=\"wp-image-17425\" srcset=\"https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/blackfriday-1-1024x531.png 1024w, https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/blackfriday-1-300x156.png 300w, https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/blackfriday-1-768x398.png 768w, https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/blackfriday-1.png 1120w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The day often marks the start of the Christmas shopping season.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some shops don\u2019t just offer discounts on Friday but hold sales until Monday, known as \u201cCyber Monday,\u201d or even for an entire week (\u201cCyber Week\u201d).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The day (and name \u201cBlack Friday\u201d) originated in the US but is now popular globally.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"is-black-friday-a-scam\">Is Black Friday a Scam?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Black Friday isn\u2019t necessarily a scam, but the deals you score on this day may not be as good as they seem at first glance.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.which.co.uk\/policy-and-insight\/article\/only-one-in-seven-deals-worth-buying-on-black-friday-which-finds-aVYGM0J8z4Yf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">an analysis by Which?<\/a>, an independent consumer organization in the UK, only 15% of deals on Black Friday offer real discounts. Most items or services are either the same or cheaper six months before Black Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"759\" height=\"214\" src=\"https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/blackfridaywhich.png\" alt=\"Which? headline: &quot;Only one in seven 'deals' worth buying on Black Friday, Which? finds.&quot; \" class=\"wp-image-17426\" srcset=\"https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/blackfridaywhich.png 759w, https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/blackfridaywhich-300x85.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 759px) 100vw, 759px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>One example that Which? gave was a Zanussi ZHB62670XA chimney cooker hood that was discounted by \u00a330 &#8211; costing \u00a3239 instead of \u00a3269 &#8211; on Black Friday at John Lewis. However, its price had been the same since 9 November, and it was actually discounted to \u00a3160 for a fortnight in August. The price increased to&nbsp; \u00a3269 only on 13 October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When Which? took into account discounts offered in the two weeks around Black Friday (including Cyber Monday sales), it found that 87% of offers were the same or cheaper at another time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many internet users appear to have had a similar experience. For example, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/buildapc\/comments\/1gufo4f\/is_black_friday_a_scam\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">one user said<\/a> they noticed that a $3,000 PC they were eyeing was discounted to $2,600 <em>before <\/em>Black Friday, but was priced at $2,700 on Black Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"732\" height=\"191\" src=\"https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/blackfridayredditnegative.png\" alt=\"Reddit comment about Black Friday sale (PC that was on discount for 2600 before Black Friday being sold for 2799 on Black Friday). \" class=\"wp-image-17427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/blackfridayredditnegative.png 732w, https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/blackfridayredditnegative-300x78.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 732px) 100vw, 732px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/UKFrugal\/comments\/184kg4t\/how_much_of_black_friday_is_a_scam\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Another user said<\/a> they bought a Bosch mini air compressor that was \u00a350 (about $66) instead of \u00a370 (about $93) due to Black Friday. However, when they read the reviews, they saw that someone recently (not on Black Friday) had bought the same item for \u00a336 (about $48).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"738\" height=\"194\" src=\"https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/blackfridayreddit.png\" alt=\"Reddit post about Black Friday sale \" class=\"wp-image-17428\" srcset=\"https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/blackfridayreddit.png 738w, https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/blackfridayreddit-300x79.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 738px) 100vw, 738px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s so bad that there are even memes made about this phenomenon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"702\" height=\"704\" src=\"https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/blackfridaymeme-1.png\" alt=\"Black Friday meme \" class=\"wp-image-17429\" srcset=\"https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/blackfridaymeme-1.png 702w, https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/blackfridaymeme-1-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/blackfridaymeme-1-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In Which? research, Amazon and Very were the two worst retailers that offered doubtful discounts.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Black Friday scams<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Black Friday is also a popular time for scammers as many consumers are looking for bargains and are making impulsive decisions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.which.co.uk\/news\/article\/how-to-avoid-falling-for-a-black-friday-scam-asew83l5sdLg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">common scams during the Black Friday<\/a> period include the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Scam emails promoting the \u201cBlack Friday Mystery Box\u201d of gadgets, smart devices, and other surprise gifts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ads impersonating expensive advent calendars.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ads that impersonate Amazon, promising \u201cmassive discounts.\u201d Clicking on these ads usually brings you to suspicious shopping sites.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2024, for example, the cybersecurity company <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.eclecticiq.com\/inside-intelligence-center-financially-motivated-chinese-threat-actor-silkspecter-targeting-black-friday-shoppers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">EclecticIQ reported on a scam<\/a> targeting Black Friday shoppers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The scam involved fake online shopping sites (including for well-known brands) that advertised huge Black Friday discounts (often \u201c80% off\u201d) and tricked victims into entering sensitive details such as their credit\/debit card information, personal data, and phone numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"421\" height=\"267\" src=\"https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/blackfridaythenorthfacescam-1.png\" alt=\"Black Friday scam \" class=\"wp-image-17430\" srcset=\"https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/blackfridaythenorthfacescam-1.png 421w, https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/blackfridaythenorthfacescam-1-300x190.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 421px) 100vw, 421px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The scammers used a real payment processor (Stripe) to allow payments to go through normally while secretly capturing sensitive information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately, because these scams are so convincing, many shoppers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/Mommit\/comments\/1grg9q8\/fell_for_a_black_friday_scam\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fall for them<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"752\" height=\"323\" src=\"https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/blackfridayscam.png\" alt=\"Reddit post about how someone fell for a Black Friday scam\" class=\"wp-image-17431\" srcset=\"https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/blackfridayscam.png 752w, https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/blackfridayscam-300x129.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Lately, scammers have also been using AI to make their scams more realistic, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news4jax.com\/news\/local\/2024\/11\/18\/ai-driven-scams-are-expected-to-surge-ahead-of-black-friday-heres-how-to-spot-the-fake\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">influencer deepfake videos<\/a> being just one example.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"so-should-you-shop-on-black-friday\">So, Should You Shop On Black Friday?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Probably not.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Or at least keep an eye on the items you want before Black Friday sales begin to ensure you\u2019re actually getting a good deal.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-to-safely-shop-on-black-friday\">How to Safely Shop On Black Friday&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Compare prices. <\/strong>Track the price of the items you want throughout the year to make sure the discounts you see on Black Friday are actually a good deal. You may get better prices before or after Black Friday sales end.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Stick to well-known retailers. <\/strong>Avoid unfamiliar shops. If you decide to buy from a source you\u2019ve never heard of before, check customer reviews and ratings. Also, make sure the shop has an official website and\/or social media accounts.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Check the website. <\/strong>Ensure the website uses secure protocols (look for \u201chttps:\/\/\u201d in the URL) and be on the lookout for misspellings in the URL and throughout the site. Also, look for the shop\u2019s privacy policy.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t share any unnecessary personal information. <\/strong>Avoid sharing details like your date of birth.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Know how to recognize phishing scams. <\/strong>Don\u2019t click on suspicious emails or texts, especially those offering big Black Friday deals. \u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Use credit cards. <\/strong>Credit cards tend to have better fraud protection and dispute resolution than debit cards in case something goes wrong.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Turn on two-factor authentication. <\/strong>Where possible, turn on two-factor authentication on your online shopping accounts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Keep documentation. <\/strong>Save confirmation emails, tracking numbers, receipts, etc. in case you have any issues with your purchases.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Monitor your accounts. <\/strong>Periodically review your bank and credit card statements for any transactions you don\u2019t recognize.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Familiarize yourself with return policies. <\/strong>Read the return policies before you make a purchase on Black Friday to ensure you can return it if it doesn&#8217;t meet your needs.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our guide to whether Black Friday is a scam.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":17425,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"class_list":["post-17424","is-it-scam","type-is-it-scam","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/is-it-scam\/17424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/is-it-scam"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/is-it-scam"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/joindeleteme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}