LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — As holiday shopping heats up, so does the danger of scams — so much so, that Black Friday now has a new nickname, "Black Fraud Day."
“We always come up with terms for things like this and really it's a way to think about people out there trying to scam you, and there's tons of people that are out there," said Assistant Lead Security Engineer with Sullivan Wright Technologies, Chris Wright."
Wright said Black Friday is now being called “Black Fraud Day” due to increasing AI-fueled scams that's targeting shoppers searching for the best deals.
He believes one of the biggest misconceptions is many of us think of online scamming as an American culture when in fact it’s the opposite.
“They're in completely other cultures, other nationalities that think differently. It's completely okay in their world to scam rich Americans. So you might think, 'I'm a retiree on a fixed income' or, 'I'm a minimum wage worker, but I want to get gifts for my kids or my family or something.' They see, every American is rich, unfortunately," Wright said.
The director of communications for Arkansas Better Business Bureau (BBB), Cara Carlin, said that the nonprofit is also making it its mission to protect you during this jolly season.
“We're seeing a lot of scammers use the tactic of 'imposterering' a big brand, so they're posing as this retailer that you trust, and then you're buying directly from the platform and not receiving the product, unfortunately,” Carlin said.
Wright said there is a solution to get your wanted name-brand products.
“If you see something that's advertising this great, wonderful sale and it's from a brand name. Go directly to that brand name website," Wright said.
So what are some next steps if you’ve already been scammed.
“First, contact your financial institution, whatever that was. So if you use, you know, some kind of cash payment app, if you used a bank, if you used a credit card, contact them first, because you need to secure that account. You also need to let them know that there was a fraudulent charge," Carlin said.
However, Cara said to take advantage of the tools they have in place to help you through this holiday season including:
We all know the phrase, if it seems too good to be true it probably is.
“There's no such thing as a $5 PlayStation 5. You're not going to get the latest this or that for, you know, pennies on the dollar," Wright said. "Don't rush into things. Go slow. Take your time. We always say, think before you click."