Black Friday this year could leave millions of shoppers at risk

Ahead of Black Friday (25^th November) later this week, consumers are being warned to look out for fraudsters, with new analysis by Lloyds Bank showing the rate of purchase scams increases by more than a quarter around the time of the online shopping extravaganza.

Purchase scams occur when someone is tricked into sending money directly to someone else’s account via bank transfer (also known as a Faster Payment) to buy goods or services – often advertised online or via social media – that don’t exist.

The scams will often start on platforms such as Facebook or Instagram, with victims lured in by the promise of cut-price or hard-to-find goods. Purchase scams are the most common type of authorised fraud, with people aged 25 to 34 most likely to fall victim.

Lloyds Bank’s fraud experts compared the number of purchase scams reported around Black Friday and Cyber Monday last year with an equivalent ‘normal’ four-day period – and they found that the rate of fraud being reported by consumers for purchases made on those days was some 29% higher.

Ros spoke to Liz Ziegler, fraud prevention director at Lloyds Bank.

Photo by Colin Watts on Unsplash