Most Black Friday scams fall into four groups: fake shop sites, too-good-to-be-true “was” prices, fake delivery or order texts, and sellers who push you to pay in ways you can’t reverse.
Before you buy, type the store’s address yourself, check the price history, and pay with a credit card (never gift cards, wire transfers, crypto or payment apps to strangers). Black Friday is Friday, November 27, 2026, and Cyber Monday is November 30.
Most Black Friday deals are real. The trouble is that scammers know you’re expecting a flood of offers, order confirmations and delivery updates, so fake ones blend right in. This guide shows the checks we use before buying anything, especially tech, and what to do if a deal turns out to be a trap.
When is Black Friday 2026?
Thanksgiving in the US falls on the fourth Thursday of November, which is November 26, 2026. That makes Black Friday November 27 and Cyber Monday November 30. Many stores start their “Black Friday” sales weeks earlier, and delivery texts keep coming well into December, so the scam season is longer than the weekend itself.
The most common Black Friday scams
| Scam | What it looks like | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Fake shop site | A brand-name laptop or console at a huge discount, on a site you’ve never heard of | Check the web address and search the store’s name with “reviews” or “scam” |
| Inflated “was” price | “Was $499, now $199” on a price nobody ever paid | Check the price history and compare the same model number elsewhere |
| Fake delivery text | “Your package is on hold, update your address” with a link | Don’t tap. Check the order in the store’s app or website |
| Fake fraud alert | A text or call about a “suspicious purchase” on your account | Call the number on the back of your card instead |
| Social media ad shop | A slick ad for a store that appeared last week | Look for a real address, contact details and a return policy |
| Marketplace seller | A seller who wants to chat or be paid off the platform | Pay only through the platform’s own checkout |
How to spot a fake shopping site
Fake stores are built to look like the real thing, and many copy a big brand’s logo and product photos. A few checks catch almost all of them.
- The web address is slightly off: extra letters, swapped letters, extra words (
brand-deals-outlet) or an unusual ending on a big brand’s name. - The price is far below every other well-known store, especially on popular items like game consoles, phones and graphics cards.
- There’s no real contact address, phone number or clear return policy.
- Checkout only offers unusual payment methods, or asks you to pay by bank transfer, gift card or crypto.
- The site is brand new and you only found it through a social media ad.
- Reviews are all perfect, all posted on the same few days, or only exist on the store’s own site.
Check the web address before you type anything
The safest habit is to skip links altogether: type the store’s address yourself or use its official app. A padlock and “https” are the minimum, not proof of honesty. They only mean the connection is encrypted, and scam sites use them too.
Search the store before you buy
Search the store’s name together with words like “reviews” or “scam”. The FTC suggests reading reviews on a range of sites, not just the store’s own page, and warns that some reviews are fake. If you can’t find anything about a store at all, that’s a warning sign in itself.
]
Fake Black Friday deals and inflated “was” prices
Not every bad deal is a scam. Some are real stores using a “was” price that barely existed, so the discount looks bigger than it is. It won’t steal your card, but it’s worth five minutes to check.
- Check the price history. In Chrome, open the product page and select Shopping Insights in the address bar to see the price history and typical price range. Google also lets you track a price and get an alert when it drops. Both are available in the US, Canada, Australia, Japan and India.
- Compare the exact model number. Tech products often come in versions made for sales events, with slightly different model numbers, less storage or older chips. Compare like with like.
- Check who’s selling. On big marketplaces, a product page may be run by a third-party seller rather than the store itself. Check the seller’s name, ratings and return policy.
- Check the condition. “Renewed”, “refurbished” and “open box” can be good value, but they shouldn’t be priced like new, and the warranty may be shorter.
Black Friday phishing: delivery texts, order emails and fraud alerts
Phishing messages peak when people are expecting packages. In FTC data for 2024, fake package delivery alerts were the most commonly reported type of text scam, and people reported losing $470 million to scams that started with a text message that year.
The messages usually say you missed a delivery, need to update your address, or owe a small redelivery fee, often with a deadline. Others claim an order “failed” or that there’s a suspicious purchase on your account. The link leads to a fake page that asks for your login or card details.
- Don’t tap links in messages about a delivery you weren’t expecting.
- Check your order status in the app or website of the store where you bought it.
- If you need the shipping company, go to its website or app directly, not through the message.
- Report the text: forward it to 7726 (SPAM) and use Report spam or Report junk in your messaging app. Our guide to stopping spam texts shows how on Android and iPhone.
- Delete it.
The same applies to calls. A caller claiming to be from your bank or a big retailer can be faked, and some now use cloned voices. See how to block spam calls and how to spot AI voice-clone scam calls.
]
Pay the safe way
How you pay decides how easily you can get your money back. The FTC says paying by credit card gives you the best protection if something goes wrong.
- Credit card: under the Fair Credit Billing Act, you can dispute a charge for something that never arrived or wasn’t what you ordered. The CFPB says to send a written dispute within 60 days of the charge appearing on your statement.
- Debit card: the money leaves your bank account straight away, so if something goes wrong you are waiting to get your own money back while it is sorted out.
- Never pay a store with gift cards, wire transfers, crypto or a payment app to a stranger. Real stores don’t ask for these, and the money is very hard to get back.
- Virtual card numbers: if your card issuer offers them, a one-off number for an unfamiliar store limits the damage if the site turns out to be fake.
Shopping accounts with saved cards are worth protecting. Turn on two-step verification, or switch to passkeys where the store supports them, so a phished password alone isn’t enough.
Social media and marketplace deals
On social media, Black Friday scams often start with an ad or a post in a buy-and-sell group. The FBI’s IC3 lists warning signs: unrealistic discounts on brand-name items, sellers using free email addresses instead of a company one, requests to send money to a different person or country than advertised, and extra fees that weren’t mentioned at first.
- Keep the conversation and the payment on the platform. A seller who wants to move to text or another app is a red flag.
- Use the platform’s own checkout or a payment method with buyer protection.
- For local pickups, meet in a busy public place and check the item before you pay.
- Be wary of “giveaways” and surveys that ask for card details to cover shipping.
What to do if you’ve been scammed
It happens to careful people too, and moving quickly makes the biggest difference.
- Call your card company or bank straight away, explain what happened, and ask to dispute the charge or block the card.
- Follow up in writing. The CFPB says a credit card billing dispute should be sent within 60 days of the charge appearing on your statement.
- If you paid with a gift card, contact the company that issued the card as soon as possible and tell them it was used in a scam.
- Change the password on any account you typed into the fake site, and on any other account that uses the same password.
- If you installed an app or gave someone remote access, check your device. Here’s how to tell if your phone has been hacked.
- Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. Report the ad, listing or account on the platform where you found it too.
- Keep records: screenshots, order emails, the web address and your payment details.
For more ways to stay safe online, see our security guides.
FAQ
When is Black Friday 2026?
Friday, November 27, 2026, the day after Thanksgiving (Thursday, November 26). Cyber Monday is November 30.
How can I tell if a shopping website is legit?
Check the exact web address, look for real contact details and a clear return policy, and search the store’s name with “reviews” or “scam”. If the price is far lower than every well-known store, treat it with suspicion.
Is it safer to pay with a credit card or a debit card?
A credit card usually gives you the strongest protection. You can dispute charges for items that never arrive, and the scammer never gets direct access to your bank balance.
Are package delivery texts real during Black Friday?
Some are, but fake ones are the most reported type of text scam. Don’t tap the link; check the order on the store’s own app or website instead.
What should I do if I entered my card details on a fake site?
Call your card company right away to block the card and dispute any charges, change any password you typed in, and report the site at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Sources
- Online Shopping — FTC Consumer Advice
- Scammers are delivering phishing messages this holiday season — FTC Consumer Alert
- New FTC Data Show Top Text Message Scams of 2024 — FTC
- How to Recognize and Report Spam Text Messages — FTC Consumer Advice
- How do I dispute a charge on my credit card bill? — CFPB
- Holiday Shopping Scams (PSA) — FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center
- Shopping insights and price tracking in Chrome — Google Chrome Help
