- Apple, Nintendo, Samsung, Disney, and Steam are the brands scammers are impersonating most this festive shopping season
- Fake online stores for high-end brands like Coach, Dior, Gucci, Rolex, and Ralph Lauren have also surged by 45%
- Eight in ten (86%) Brits say they’re seeing ads from unfamiliar retailers with scam-related URLs increasing by 10% from early October to early November as criminals ramp up activity ahead of festive rush
London, U.K. — Monday 1st December — Research from McAfee Labs has revealed the brands scammers are impersonating most as the festive shopping season begins. Well-known tech brands like Apple, Nintendo and Samsung as well as luxury brands Coach, Dior and Gucci are among the worst affected.
McAfee Labs has found how convincingly scammers are copying trusted retailers to create lookalike online storefronts, fake email alerts and misleading social ads. Shopping today happens quickly, on phones, between tasks and across social feeds. This speed gives realistic fakes more room to slip through. Knowing which brands scammers impersonate most helps people slow down, spot red flags and stay safer.
McAfee Labs has also seen a sharp rise in malicious activity tied to major shopping moments, including 10% increases in scam URLs and emails impersonating popular brands.
The most impersonated brands of 2025
This year’s most impersonated brands align with what people frequently shop for during the holidays - popular tech, luxury gifts and high-demand, limited-edition items. Cybercriminals focus on trusted names and rely on realistic visuals and messaging that match what shoppers expect to see. Fake versions of these sites often include copied product photos, similar layouts, realistic customer-service language and sale graphics designed to push shoppers toward entering payment information.
Top 5 most impersonated luxury brands
- Coach
- Dior
- Ralph Lauren
- Rolex
- Gucci
Luxury brand impersonation scams are heavily concentrated among just a few names, with Coach leading by a wide margin. Coach accounts for roughly 45% more scam-related URLs than the next most impersonated luxury brand, Dior.
Top 5 most impersonated mainstream consumer brands
- Apple
- Nintendo
- Samsung
- Disney
- Steam
McAfee’s key consumer brands findings:
- Apple stands out within the most impersonated mainstream consumer brands with the highest volume of URL scams of any brand analysed.
- Nintendo follows closely, driven largely by the massive demand for the Switch 2 during the 2025 festive season.
- Samsung impersonations are primarily tied to scams involving phones and accessories.
- Disney scams stem mostly from fake Disney+ streaming offers and account alerts.
- Steam also appears frequently in scam URLs, with fraud tied to Steam gift cards used for PC gaming and the rising popularity of the Steam Deck, now considered the most widely used handheld PC for gamers.
Festive deals are up, so is brand impersonation
Festive excitement is high, but so is the level of deception. Over half (58%) of Brits say they’re more worried about AI-generated scams this year than last and one third (35%) have abandoned a purchase because something didn’t feel right. 29% believe they can spot a scam, yet almost one in five (19%) admit they’ve fallen for one during a past festive shopping season.
“Scammers have always taken advantage of the holiday rush to exploit people looking for deals, but AI has made it easier for them to copy trusted brands with speed and accuracy that is hard to spot,” said Vonny Gamot, Head of EMEA at McAfee. “From imposter websites and fake products to convincing emails and texts designed to pull people in, scammers today are using AI to create some of the most believable social-engineering tricks we’ve ever seen. The best protection is to slow down and verify what you see.”
McAfee’s tips for a scam-free festive season:
- Pause before you click. If you get a text, DM or email about a deal, go directly to the retailer’s site or app instead.
- Stick to trusted retailers. If the deal feels rushed or the brand looks unfamiliar, it’s safer to skip it.
- Watch for red flags. If a message pressures you to act fast, demands payment through gift cards or wire transfers, asks for personal info or insists you stay on the line or keep quiet – hit pause. These are classic scam signals. Taking a moment to think can be the difference between scoring a deal and walking into disaster.
- Protect your shopping experience. Turn on two-factor authentication for extra account protection, use strong, unique passwords, shop only on secure websites (look for “https://” and the padlock icon) and monitor your bank and credit card statements for unusual charges.
- Use AI-powered scam protection. Consider using trusted tools like McAfee’s Scam Detector that can spot and flag suspicious links and scams before they do harm.
Methodology
McAfee Labs
McAfee’s analysis of holiday shopping scams is based on real-world web activity from October to November 2025, focusing on luxury brand and mainstream consumer product impersonation. McAfee Labs researchers identified malicious and suspicious URLs by querying a curated list of brand keywords, formatted to match typical web addresses, against McAfee’s web reputation telemetry. Each time a user attempted to visit a flagged site, it was counted as a scam hit; repeated attempts are inclusive. Results are presented as the percentage of scam-related hits over total web traffic for the period, offering a clear snapshot of the risks shoppers face online, regardless of their customer status.
Consumer Research
A McAfee survey focused on scams and online shopping behaviour was conducted online in August 2025. It included responses from 8,600 adults in Australia, France, Germany, India, Japan, the UK and the U.S. U.S. results were weighted to ensure national representation.
About McAfee
McAfee Corp. is a global leader in online protection for consumers. Focused on protecting people in an always-online world, McAfee’s solutions adapt to user needs, empowering individuals and families with secure, intuitive tools. For more information, visit www.mcafee.com.
Contact:
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