Top Black Friday Scams of 2021

Black Friday has become a holiday shopping tradition that we all look forward to. It is Is it illegal to get people to do forexa time of huge savings and incredible deals...but your happiness could be ruined by a scam. There is a difference between an ‘incredible deal’ and a deal that is ‘too good to be true’. 

There are a few Black Friday scams that pop up every year but scammers also change it up with new items. So, what are the top Black Friday Scams of 2021? We asked scam fighting volunteers from 7 countries for the trends in scams they see…

Electronics & Christmas Decorations

ANYONE who is looking to shop for hot items like TVs, computers, phones, gaming consoles, tools and more that are normally Black Friday ad items - such as on Amazon, Best Buy, Home Depot, Walmart, etcetera is vulnerable.

We see these retailer names impersonated a lot. on scam ads and fake sites with too good to be true prices. With Black Friday sales, consumers are trained to look for the "below cost" deals so more people might dismiss the red flag about a price being too low.

Here is an example Black Friday scam ad that came on my feed just now. 

Christmas inflatables scams are popular (any Christmas decor but especially large items like trees and life-size items are big scam money makers). Victims get a tiny copy at best of what is shown. This is a UNIQUENESS SCAM. My Trend Micro Check extension flagged this one as soon as I clicked the site.

- Marissa, FTI Volunteer

Seashell Christmas Tree and Waldorf Doll Counterfeits

I’ve seen sponsored ads on Facebook that are using stolen photos from KP Seashell Designs (Seashell Christmas tree) and Waldorf Dolls (see attached screenshots). The Seashell Christmas Tree scam comes up every year and the Waldorf Doll scam is always ongoing.

- Suzie, FTI Volunteer

Gaming Consoles & Accessories

I saw several websites that use "Black Friday" as an excuse for way too good to be true prices. I see now that those sites had a really short life and were closed in literally a few days. But some of them are still active: 

• Zuxxus has hidden way too cheap Nintendo Switch offers
• Onlineocvr scams people with unrealistic Oculus Quest deals
• Also there's a bunch of different websites with the same store name "Discount Direct" 

All of them have too generous sales due to Black Friday.

- Sergey, FTI Volunteer

Pets, Pinball Machines and Guns

This is a massive problem – 35% of the BBB’s online shopping complaints this year were about nonexistent pets, and people do think about the holidays with gifts of pets.

There are a couple of retail products that I see because they're in short supply or because there's legislation impacting them:

• Playstation 5 and other game consoles
• Pinball machines (this is a bit weird I know but it keeps coming up)
• Guns! (I think there was panic buying after Biden was elected president of the US and I think he has also banned certain types of ammo etc)

- Jack Whitaker, Cybercrime Researcher

Children’s Toys and Copycat Websites

“2021 Hot Sale Cool Children’s Electric Toy Car” is one of the biggest.

“12 V Electric Ride On Kids Trucks” and “Yard Buildings” are also rampant scams.

FAKE/counterfeited Facebook stores & store websites.

FAKE/counterfeit Facebook page ads to FAKE/counterfeit websites BestBuy, HomeDepot, Costco, Walmart, Macy’s, WayFair, etc. for most of them.

All these and more are listed on the Facebook page Craigslist, Letgo, etc. Scam Reporting, Prevention, & Education.

 - Scam Buster, Independent Scamfighter

Electric Rollers & Warehouse Equipment

Here are the most recent fake shops Artists Against 419 have dealt with: Fake Sites Database

Aside from the Chinese fake shops, a good part of the ones we see targeting Europe originates from Benin. The most recent case making it into the media was in Spain.

Apart from electronics, the common bait items for Europe seem to be electric rollers and warehouse equipment (based on the stupid idea that every woman would love to receive some new toy for the kitchen as a X-mas gift.

Even if not under the Black Friday Scams label, what we see increasing this month are donation scams (impersonating lotto winners in USA and UK mostly), bogus grants allegedly given by IMF, WHO and similar, and charity scams specifically oriented to Afghanistan. Example here.

 - Kari, Artists Against 419

Trailers and Recreational Vehicles (RVs)

I've noticed lately in FB marketplace travel trailers/RVs put up by obvious scammers at really low prices. They always want you to email them, it's almost always "posted for a relative". They are trying to capitalize on the rise in Demand for RVs.

- Kristen, FTI Volunteer

Know about a Black Friday Scam that we haven’t listed? Tell us in the comments below or in our group Global Scam Fighters!