The 2022 holiday shopping season is here. Retailers’ discounts are kicking off early, and shoppers are eager to spend, especially with big price markdowns to come as the season progresses.
And with the COVID-19 pandemic still a concern to shoppers, more people are expected to shop online this season.
What this also means is that as consumers whip themselves into a shopping frenzy, cybercriminals have activated their seasonal scams to try and steal money or personal information. These scams are well thought out and include realistic email messaging that uses well-known name brands like UPS, FedEx, and Ray-Ban to help convince unwary shoppers to click on links that lead to fake websites or open malicious attachments.
Already this year, consumers spent a record $9.12 billion shopping online during Black Friday, according to Adobe. Overall, online sales for Black Friday were up 2.3% year-over-year.