Black Friday and the Cyber Monday (BFCM) weekend are no longer just a retail event; they are a global phenomenon. For consumers, it’s a high-stakes hunt for the best deals. For businesses, it’s a high-pressure sales sprint. But for cybercriminals, it’s a gold rush.

This period of manufactured urgency, high emotions, and distracted clicking creates the perfect storm for fraud. We are so focused on not missing the deal that we lower our guard. We become “click-first, think-later” consumers, and that is precisely what they are waiting for.

This year, the most valuable thing you can save isn’t 50% on a new TV – it’s your personal and financial data. This is how you do it.

The dark side of deals: threats behind the offers

Before you even find a deal, the “deals” are finding you. Cybercriminals know you’re looking for bargains, so they flood your inbox, text messages, and social media feeds with “bait.”

This is where the first line of defence must be drawn. The primary threats are:

• • Phishing emails: Deceptively professional emails from “Amazon,” “Takealot,” or “Apple” warning that your account is locked or offering an exclusive, private voucher. The link leads to a perfect clone of the real site, designed to steal your login credentials.
  • Smishing (SMS Phishing): A text message arrives: “Your [Brand Name] order has a customs fee. Click here to pay and release your parcel.” It’s a scam designed to get your card details for a tiny, insignificant-looking fee, which then leads to your account being emptied.
  • Malvertising: Fraudulent ads on social media or search engines that mimic real brands but link to malicious sites. They look real, feel real, but are digital bear traps.

Spot the scam: how to tell real from fake

The criminal’s goal is to get you onto their territory. Their most powerful tool is the fraudulent website. These sites are often perfect, pixel-for-pixel copies of the real thing. Your only defence is to become a digital detective.

Before you even think about adding to your cart, check these things:

• • The “too good to be true” test: A PlayStation 5 for R2 000? It’s a scam. A R15 000 TV for R1 500? It’s a scam. These deals are designed to override your logic with greed. If the deal is impossibly good, it’s impossible.
  • Inspect the URL: This is the most important check. Look at the address bar. A scammer’s site might say takealot.net or ama.zon.com. They are banking on you not spotting the subtle difference. The real site is just takealot.com or amazon.com.
  • Look for the lock: In the address bar, ensure you see the padlock icon and the letters “https…//”. The ‘S’ stands for ‘Secure’. If it’s missing, do not enter any personal information. Period.

Shield your wallet: protecting your payment data

Once you’re on a (verified) legitimate site, the next battleground is the checkout. How you pay matters more than what you pay with.

• Credit vs debit card: Use a credit card, not a debit card. If a scammer gets your credit card details, you are protected by the bank’s fraud liability policies. You can dispute the charge and get your money back. If they get your debit card details, they are taking money directly from your bank account. Getting that back is infinitely harder.
• Avoid bank transfers (EFTs): Unless you are 100% certain of the retailer (i.e., you’ve used them before), never pay via a direct bank transfer. This is a favourite method for scammers. It’s untraceable and irreversible.
• Use digital wallets: Services like PayPal, Apple Pay, or Google Pay are your best friends. They act as a secure middleman. They pay the merchant without ever sharing your actual card number, effectively hiding your financial data from the seller (and anyone who might have hacked their site).

Wi-Fi and your wallet: secure your connection

You’ve found the deal, you’re on the right site, and you’re ready to pay. But where are you?

If you are on a public, unsecured Wi-Fi network – e.g. at a café, in an airport, or at a shopping centre – you might as well be shouting your credit card number across the room.

On an unsecure network, a “man-in-the-middle” attack is terrifyingly simple. A hacker “listens” to all the traffic on the network. When you type in your card details, they intercept them in plain text.

The solution is simple:

• Don’t use public Wi-Fi for shopping.
• Use your phone’s mobile data (LTE or 5G). It is vastly more secure than any public Wi-Fi.
• If you must use public Wi-Fi, use a VPN (Virtual Private Network). A VPN encrypts your connection, creating a secure, private tunnel that hackers can’t see into.

After the purchase: remain vigilant

The transaction is complete, but the risk is not. Your post-purchase vigilance is crucial.

Monitor your accounts: Don’t wait for your monthly statement. Log in to your banking app and check your transactions every few days during the sales season. Spotting a fraudulent R500 charge early can prevent a R50 000 disaster.

Watch for delivery scams: The next wave of scams will be “your parcel is delayed.” They know you’re expecting packages. Never click a link in a text. Go to the official courier’s website and enter your tracking number manually.

Be wary when creating accounts: Every time you create an account on a new retail site, you are creating a new data risk. That site will eventually be breached. If possible, always “check out” as a guest.

Black Friday is a race, but it’s a race that pays to lose. The person who slows down, checks the URL, and thinks before they click is the one who truly wins. Don’t let a “deal” cost you your security, your data or your cash.