It’s the month retailers and shoppers have all been waiting for as Black Friday starts on November 25. But as more deals are launched in the lead up to the sale day, it also becomes an opportunity for scammers to target buyers. The official Black Friday sale is in 11 days and retailers have already started to reduce prices in the days leading up to the event. There’s already deals to be found on homeware products, beauty brands and the latest tech gadgets. But with so many different retailers getting involved in the major sale event, including in-store retailers, online giants and even smaller businesses across social media, scammers will try to take advantage of unknowing shoppers. READ MORE: The essential household items that always feature in Black Friday sales from Dyson, Ninja, Simba and more The Office for National Statistics revealed that more than half of UK adults have received ‘phishing’ messages in the last month. ‘Phishing’ is when scammers attempt to mislead consumers by sending links to try and reveal personal information like credit card details. To help shoppers make the most of the sale this Black Friday, we’ve put together a list of tips, which is not only aimed at avoiding scams, but buying products for the cheapest price too. Don’t run with the first deal you see This may sound quite obvious, but when the deals and advertising for Black Friday start popping up it can be hard to believe that they may not be money well spent. All retailers have different dates for the sale period, some may only drop their prices from the Friday 25 to Cyber Monday (November 28) whereas others may have deals rolling on from October. Amazon for instance started some tech deals at the end of October, which saw shoppers get a pair of AirPod Pro 2 for £50 off. Shoppers should be wary that the first deals will not stay the cheapest, as the more retailers who get involved increases the chance of other sites dropping the price to stay competitive. Use a price tracker Talking about competitive pricing leads us on to our next step of advice, which is using a price tracker for Black Friday. This is beneficial for ‘high-end’ or pricier ticket items, where the different listed savings throughout the year can fluctuate between £30 off up to £100, for instance. Trackers check the price history of a product to figure out if you’re actually getting the best deal, or not. You can also view a full timeline of previous prices, going a couple of years back, this can also give shoppers an idea as to when a retailer is likely to launch a sale on a specific product, by comparing the figures to the previous year. CamelCamelCamel is one trusted price tracker website, and a ‘must-go-to’ if you’re looking to buy from Amazon this Black Friday. Look out for cashback deals Cashback sites allow shoppers to get money back when you buy a product through their site, giving a percentage of money back. It’s a great way to save money throughout the year, and allows consumers to make even more of a saving during busy sale periods. One of these sites is TopCashback, who has a selection of more than 4,000 fashion, travel, entertainment and outdoor retailers. Deals recently offered on the site have allowed shoppers to save money on weekly food shops (the Tesco £20.40 deal ) and even slash money off the price of petrol. The cashback percentage will be given to shoppers on the price of already discounted products. Retailers stocked on the site currently include JD, Tessuti and Steve Madden . Be cautious of text ‘offer’ messages Scammers will be on the lookout to take advantage of shoppers this seasonal sale including the lead up to Christmas and the Boxing Day sales, which is why shoppers should know what to look out for. As the Black Friday discounts come in this week be cautious of continuous ‘offer’ and discount messages, whether it’s via text or email. Not all of these will be a scam but it’s also not uncommon for scammers to target shoppers in this way. Have a think about what mailing lists you have signed up for, or given your number too, and if you don’t recognise the ‘retailer’ don’t click into the message. A common text message scam around this time of year is the ‘ Royal Mail ’ scam (or any courier), claiming there has been a problem with delivery. Scammers will send out thousands of text messages, in the likelihood that the majority of readers would have bought something in the sale, and ask you to pay a small fee for re-delivery. The £2.99 or £3 fine may not sound like a big ‘miss’ but it gives access to shoppers’ banking details. Shoppers should know that no courier charges for re-delivery, if a courier has been unable to deliver your package a certain amount of times then you will be asked to collect it from a location and not charged. Know where to go for extra discounts There’s one specific landing page on Amazon where shoppers can get up to £100 off of products. Amazon Warehouse offers discounts and money-off items throughout the year as well as in seasonal sales. All the products listed here are refurbished and have been rigorously tested in order to be resold ‘as new’. It lists a variety of products but expensive tech items like cameras, phones and laptops are frequently sold here and make for a great starting place for Christmas shopping. Shop with a credit card Credit cards can be used as a safety net for shoppers and are often a lot safer to use online compared to debit cards. If for some reason you did find yourself being scammed in the Black Friday sale it’s almost impossible for banks to help you get your money bank with a debit card. But anything bought between the value of £100 and £30,000 is covered by the consumer act, meaning shoppers could get their money reimbursed by the bank. Martin Lewis and his team at Money Saving Expert recently shared how customers can get cashback, in cash or voucher form, depending on the type of credit card they use. One ‘must-do’ tip for shoppers is to ensure they set up a direct debit to the credit card each month to ensure they aren’t borrowing enough to pay back the interest, and instead use the card as a way of spending within your means whilst getting money back. One recommended card, and that we see could be beneficial for consumers in the sale period, is Sainsbury’s Bank Mastercard . Shoppers have to have a Nectar Card to use it but it gives a lot of money back to shoppers. If shoppers send £50 or more a week at Sainsbury’s they will get bonus points back worth £4 (plus other points), these can be spent at Sainsbury’s , eBay or even swapped for BA airmiles. READ NEXT: Saving of £500+ as Virgin Media broadband early Black Friday deals drop Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 and 5 Pro available for cheapest price ever in latest Black Friday sale Shoppers can get £670 off iPhone model in pre Black Friday sale How to make an extra saving when buying the latest iPhone, Samsung and other smartphone this Black Friday The Apple Watch series that should be on your radar this Black Friday and what to avoid
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Published on : 2022-11-14 07:40:52
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