{"id":203478,"date":"2025-11-27T01:30:34","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T09:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/?p=203478"},"modified":"2025-12-10T10:25:03","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T18:25:03","slug":"how-to-protect-yourself-from-black-friday-and-cyber-monday-ai-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/internet-security\/how-to-protect-yourself-from-black-friday-and-cyber-monday-ai-scams\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Protect Yourself from Black Friday and Cyber Monday AI Scams\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

It usually starts with something small.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re scrolling TikTok or Instagram, half-paying attention, when a Black Friday ad pops up. It looks like the brand you love\u2014same logo, same photos, same \u201climited-time deal\u201d language you\u2019ve seen in real promos. The link takes you to a site that looks identical to the real one. The checkout page works. The confirmation email looks legit.<\/p>\n

Then the payment clears, and the merchant name on your bank statement doesn\u2019t match the store at all.<\/p>\n

That moment, wait, what did I just buy from?, <\/em>is becoming the defining holiday-shopping scam of 2025.<\/p>\n

This year, fake ads and cloned storefronts aren\u2019t sketchy one-offs or typo-filled red flags. They\u2019re polished. They\u2019re identical. And increasingly, they\u2019re powered by AI.<\/p>\n

McAfee\u2019s 2025 holiday research<\/a> found that nearly half of Americans (46%) have already encountered AI-altered or AI-generated scams<\/strong> while shopping. And with 96% of people planning to shop online, <\/strong>many doing so daily, scammers know this is peak opportunity.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how fraudsters are blending into the busiest shopping season of the year, what the data shows, and how to stay one step ahead.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why Scammers Are So Effective Right Now<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A perfect storm is happening:<\/p>\n

People are shopping more often.<\/strong>
Nearly half of U.S. adults expect to shop online daily or multiple times per day during the holidays.<\/p>\n

People are rushed.<\/strong>
From early Black Friday \u201cprice drop\u201d alerts to Cyber Monday countdowns, shoppers don\u2019t slow down to verify what they\u2019re seeing.<\/p>\n

AI makes scam content nearly flawless.<\/strong>
McAfee found technology email scams surging ~85%<\/strong>, retail email scams rising ~50%<\/strong>, and fraudulent URLs climbing across the board\u2014from counterfeit Apple support pages to fake Costco refund portals.<\/a><\/p>\n

Holiday deals are already rolling out\u2014and so are the scams.<\/p>\n

McAfee\u2019s 2025 holiday research<\/a> shows major spikes in email scams (~50% increase), technology scams (~85% increase), and fake storefronts<\/strong> that mimic trusted retailers. AI tools are making these scams faster, more realistic, and harder to spot<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not that shoppers suddenly got careless.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s that scammers suddenly got good<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"This
This shows a SMishing text from a fake Amazon. Companies won’t text you like this.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 2025 Scams Hitting Shoppers the Hardest<\/strong><\/h2>\n

1. Fake Retail Sites & \u201cDeal\u201d Pages That Look Real<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This is the big one, and it\u2019s getting cleaner every year.<\/p>\n

Scammers lift entire storefronts:<\/p>\n