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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Zoe Wood

Black Friday turning into Black Fraud Day, says UK cybersecurity chief

Person shopping clothes online on laptop, making payment with credit card.
More than 16,000 reports of online shopping fraud were recorded between November 2023 and January 2024 Photograph: Oscar Wong/Getty

Black Friday is fast becoming Black Fraud Day with the discount period now “prime time” for scammers, according to Britain’s cybersecurity chief, who said criminals were using artificial intelligence to trick shoppers.

With online criminals taking advantage of an eagerness to save money amid the cost of living crisis, last Christmas people in the UK were scammed out of more than £11.5m, figures show, almost £1m more than in the same period in 2022. Fake clothing or high-end tech listings on social media were among the common ploys used to dupe people.

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