Barclays says Black Friday scams on rise

Barclays Bank has revealed that purchase scams rose by 34% following Black Friday weekend in 2021, putting Christmas shoppers at huge risk.

John Davis, Director, UK & Ireland, SANS Institute, EMEA says, “Hackers are known to turn up the heat with high attack volumes and high-pressure tactics at the most challenging of times. With cash-conscious consumers’ attention firmly fixed on locking in festive bargains, cybercriminals will hope we’ve dropped our guard, giving them a prime opportunity to steal our personal and financial data.”

Vigilance  

“It’s clear that cybercriminals are levelling up with attacks that are more prevalent, more sophisticated, and harder to detect than ever before. That’s why vigilance is our most critical first line of defence.”

“Opportunistic hackers will try to create a false sense of urgency so it’s important to exercise caution by staying scam-aware, trusting gut instinct, and building security into all of our online behaviour.”

Scam-aware approach

"The golden rule to remember is that prevention is always better than a cure. Don’t panic and make rushed decisions out of fear of missing out on a deal. The power to stay ahead of the hackers comes from learning how to protect ourselves online.”

“It’s worth taking time with purchases and remembering that if something looks too good to be true, it often is. It’s time to turn the spotlight on simple yet effective approaches like better and more robust passwords, and a questioning scam-aware approach, to ensure we can bargain hunt with full peace of mind.”