Top Valentine’s Day Scams 2023
Author: Trend Micro
As shopping scams and romance scams continue to be a scourge on the American consumer, this year’s Valentine’s Day is fast approaching. While couples will be looking forward to exchanging gifts and experiences, scammers to are busy prepping.
Recently we have been tracking a large amount of new Valentine’s Day shopping scams. We’ve detected a total of 77,661 malicious URLs, with the states of California and Virginia being the most affected, with 36.9% and 26.2% of the share, respectively.
These fake stores purport to sell a range of romantic gifts, from flowers to cards, and chocolates to clothing. One thing’s for sure, if you shop with these scammers, you’ll be left empty-handed and out of pocket. The following is what we’ve found.
Valentine’s Day Scam Websites
Teachergive
Prank Panda / Justlikeit
Nans Tees
Fydude
Cveraot.com
CNTHIAAR
MyFaceBoxer
Red Flags
All six of the stores share the same six red flags:
- The websites are very young.
- Much of the content is duplicated, including product pictures and policy statements.
- There are no contact phone numbers – just different email addresses.
- There are no reviews.
- There is no social media presence.
- The websites’ owners are hiding their identities on WHOIS.
Shop Safe with Trend Micro Check
- Always double-check reviews of shopping websites.
- Pay attention to the company’s age, and be suspicious of great-sounding discounts.
- Strange payment methods (such as only PayPal) are a red flag.
- NEVER use links or buttons from unknown sources! Use Trend Micro Check to detect scams with ease:
Trend Micro Check is an all-in-one browser extension and mobile app for detecting scams, phishing attacks, malware, and dangerous links — and it’s FREE!
Trend Micro Check is a browser extension and mobile app for detecting scams, phishing attacks, malware, and dangerous links — and it’s FREE!
After you’ve pinned the Trend Micro Check extension, it will block dangerous sites automatically! (Available on Safari, Google Chrome, and Microsoft Edge.)
You can also download the Trend Micro Check mobile app for 24/7 automatic scam and spam detection and filtering. (Available for Android and iOS).
And as ever, if you’ve found this article an interesting and/or helpful read, please do SHARE it with friends and family to help keep the online community secure and protected. And don’t forget to leave a like and a comment. Happy Valentine’s Day, and happy shopping!
This article was published in collaboration with Trend Micro
Image source: Pexels.com
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