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Black Friday scam alert: CloudSEK on 27 November warned of a large-scale surge in fraudulent online shops set up to exploit Black Friday and year-end festive sales, uncovering more than 2,000 holiday-themed scam websites designed to imitate major retail brands.
A mass-produced fraud ecosystem
According to the digital risk protection firm, cybercriminals are operating one of the most extensive seasonal scam networks seen in recent years. The fake stores closely mimic well-known retailers, using recycled holiday layouts, countdown clocks, bogus trust badges, and manipulative pop-ups that simulate recent purchases to create a sense of urgency.
Researchers found that these sites harvest payment and personal information while redirecting transactions through attacker-controlled checkout pages, enabling quiet but effective financial theft.
Two major scam clusters identified
Cluster One includes more than 750 connected fake storefronts, notably including over 170 Amazon-themed typosquatted domains. These sites share identical festive designs and rely heavily on urgency tactics and misleading social proof. Many also load resources previously linked to phishing and malware campaigns.
Cluster Two spans over 1,000 domains registered under the .shop extension, impersonating brands such as Samsung, Jo Malone, Ray-Ban, Xiaomi and others. These pages replicate a standardised Black Friday/Cyber Monday template and follow the same spoofed checkout flow, pointing to the deployment of a mass-produced phishing kit.
Social media ads and search tricks drive traffic
CloudSEK’s analysis suggests these fraudulent domains are promoted through short, fast-moving social media advertisements, search engine manipulation, and possible circulation on WhatsApp and Telegram groups. This increases the likelihood that unsuspecting consumers encounter these fake shops before legitimate brand sites.
The firm estimates that each fraudulent store could draw several hundred visitors in a short span, converting 3%–8% of them through heavy-pressure tactics. This could enable scammers to make between $2,000 and $12,000 per site before takedown.
Warning from researchers
Security researcher Ibrahim Saify described the trend as a shift from isolated scams to industrial-scale fraud. He warned that, without intervention, these schemes could result in significant consumer losses and undermine confidence in e-commerce during the busiest shopping period of the year.
Victims also risk longer-term consequences, including identity theft due to insecure data handling. Meanwhile, brands face reputational setbacks, higher support costs, and revenue losses as shoppers are diverted to fraudulent lookalike sites.
Signs shoppers should look out for
Consumers are advised to remain cautious of:
- Unrealistic discounts of 70–90%
- Flashy countdown timers
- Misspelt or unusual URLs
- Fake trust seals
- Check out pages that redirect to unfamiliar domains
- Generic layouts repeated across different “stores”
- Absence of verified customer support information
The safest approach is to shop through official brand websites, apps or well-established retailers.
How to stay safe online
CloudSEK is urging companies in retail, electronics, beauty and lifestyle industries to monitor new domain registrations, keep a watch for impersonation attempts, and establish rapid takedown mechanisms.
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The organisation also recommends that regulators and cybersecurity bodies improve monitoring of high-risk hosting networks, work with advertising platforms to block scam campaigns, increase public awareness, and collaborate across agencies to dismantle coordinated phishing clusters.
The full report provides detailed indicators and patterns to assist organisations and authorities in identifying and addressing these evolving threats.
English (US) ·