We all love to get the most for our money, but we want to highlight the potential dangers that lurk within “Black Friday Deal” emails.  We encourage everyone to exercise just as much caution, if not more, before you click on any link within these emails.  Our previous blog posts on phishing emails and staying safe within your emails are linked here: The silent threat in your Inbox & Gone Phishing!

We urge everyone to remember, these emails are just as likely as any other type of email to be spoofed by cyber criminals to get you to click on the link.  They may even allow you to buy a product, albeit a counterfeit product, to get your details and your money.  If you do receive an email with a deal you’d really like to purchase from a trusted shop, try typing the website straight into the web address bar in your browser and finding the product that way.  Then you don’t have to worry about clicking on a potentially malicious link.  In the past twelve months alone, the Active Cyber Defence programme has removed 113000 malicious URLs from fake online shops where consumers ended up with counterfeit goods or nothing at all.

The National Cyber Security Centre offer some great advice on keeping yourself safe while online purchasing this Black Friday here.

They offer some key top tips such as:

–              Be selective of where you shop

–              Only provide necessary information

–              Use a secure and protected payment method

–              Keep your accounts secure

If you do receive a suspicious-looking email over this festive period, forward it to report@phishing.gov.uk for the NCSC and the City of London Police to include it within their Suspicious Email Reporting Service.

As always, if you think you have fallen victim to a scam email or phishing email please don’t hesitate to contact the team here at MJD to help you get yourself or your business secure again.  And if you find any great black Friday deals let us know too!