Black Friday remains one of the busiest shopping periods worldwide, but it has also become a peak season for cybercriminals and misleading retail practices. Each year introduces more sophisticated tactics that put consumers at greater risk. This year was no exception. Technology advances, AI tools become widely accessible, and retailers face rising pressure to compete, creating the perfect environment for deceptive practices to grow.
This breaks down the five major Black Friday problems that surged this year, issues that experts warn will continue happening every year unless shoppers understand how these tactics work and how to navigate them.
1. AI-Powered Fake Websites Surge 250%
One of the most alarming developments this year was the massive rise of AI-generated fake shopping websites. Cybersecurity firms, including NordVPN, reported a 250% increase in cloned retail sites created to steal payment data, login credentials, and personal information.
Generative AI tools now allow scammers to produce nearly identical versions of trusted websites such as major marketplaces and well-known retailers. The layout, design, product pages, fonts, and even customer support chat interfaces closely resemble the real platforms, making them extremely difficult to distinguish from legitimate sites.
Why this will continue every year
- AI tools improve each year, making website cloning faster, cheaper, and more convincing.
- Scammers can automate large-scale attacks, producing tens of thousands of fake sites during Black Friday week.
- Shoppers are under pressure to buy quickly before deals expire, decreasing their attention to detail.
- Search engines and social platforms cannot detect all fake sites in real time, giving scammers enough time to run successful operations.
How these sites trick shoppers
- Fake ads on social media that appear credible
- Sponsored ads appearing in search results
- Slight domain differences (e.g., .shop, .store, .one)
- Fraudulent email newsletters that link to AI-generated replicas
AI’s role in these websites has completely transformed the scale of this scam. Instead of low-quality pages with spelling mistakes, shoppers now face near-perfect replicas. This trend will only intensify as more advanced AI models become available worldwide.
2. The “Anchor Price” Deception Used by Retailers
While many shoppers focus on cybersecurity threats, one of the most widespread forms of Black Friday manipulation comes directly from legitimate retailers. Consumer advocates warned again this year about the use of inflated list prices to create the illusion of a major discount.
A consumer expert from Washington Consumers’ Checkbook stated that many retailers “are really just lying to you” about discounts. Investigations found that companies increase the “original price” weeks before Black Friday. When the event begins, the sale price appears significantly lower, even though the product may have been sold for the same price—or cheaper—earlier in the year.
Why retailers use this strategy
- It increases conversions by creating artificial urgency.
- It makes a basic discount look massive and more convincing.
- Most consumers do not track price history or use price-tracking tools.
- Regulations around inflated list prices are still limited and inconsistently enforced.
Why this will continue every year
- There is no strict federal standard defining how long a price must be real before being advertised as a discount.
- Retailers compete aggressively during Black Friday, pushing some companies to rely on psychological pricing.
- Shoppers respond strongly to large percentage discounts, even when the final price isn’t the lowest of the year.
The anchor-price strategy remains one of the biggest reasons Black Friday has become more about perception than true savings.
Also Read: 4 Popular Effective Budgeting Strategies (Explained)
3. Phishing Emails and Texts Rise 620% During Black Friday
Black Friday also sees a dramatic increase in phishing attacks. This year, cybersecurity teams reported a 620% spike in phishing attempts through emails, SMS messages, and instant messaging apps.
These messages often impersonate trusted retailers or delivery carriers, using phrases such as a limited offer, a payment error, or a delivery problem. With AI, scammers now produce messages with natural grammar, brand-accurate style, and convincing layouts.
Why phishing attacks succeed
- Shoppers expect confirmations, invoices, and delivery updates during Black Friday.
- Fraudulent emails blend in with legitimate retailer notifications.
- The appearance of professional formatting reduces suspicion.
- Attackers use AI chat models to generate hundreds of variations of the same message, making detection harder.
Why phishing will continue every year
- AI allows criminals to scale operations with minimal effort.
- Phishing remains one of the most profitable attack methods.
- Increased online shopping volume gives scammers a larger target pool.
- Many people click links on mobile devices without inspecting URLs carefully.
This surge demonstrates how AI has transformed simple phishing into a highly targeted and convincing operation.
4. Lower-Quality “Black Friday Special” Product Variants
Another major issue highlighted again this year is the production of inferior, event-specific models made specifically for Black Friday. These are legitimate products produced by big brands, but they often differ internally from regular retail versions.
Reports revealed that some electronics brands create derivative product lines with cost-reduced components. These products are sold only during major sales events and are advertised as if they belong to the same high-quality family of models.
Common differences found in event-exclusive models
- Fewer HDMI or USB ports
- Lower refresh rate or reduced brightness in TVs
- Cheaper internal materials
- Lower storage capacity
- Absence of special features highlighted in regular models
These products appear attractive because the price looks significantly lower. However, the value often aligns with the cheaper components included in these special editions.
Why this will continue every year
- Brands want to participate in Black Friday without reducing the price of their premium models.
- Retailers need high-volume inventory for doorbuster deals.
- Most shoppers compare only the model number, not the specific technical features.
- Manufacturers can legally create exclusive versions without revealing full component differences.
Black Friday has shifted into a separate product category where retailers and brands prioritize sales volume over long-term product performance.
5. The QR Code “Brushing” Scam Expands Nationwide
This year also saw a significant warning from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service regarding the rise of the brushing scam, which now includes a QR code component. Consumers receive small, unsolicited items in the mail—often low-value products—to appear as gifts or promotional giveaways.
These packages now include QR codes asking the recipient to “register” or “claim” a free item, leading to malicious websites that capture personal information, login credentials, and in some cases, financial details.
Why scammers send unsolicited items
- It gives the operation a sense of legitimacy.
- Recipients are more likely to engage when they believe they are receiving a free product.
- The QR code makes it easy to direct victims to malicious sites without relying on email or SMS.
- Many people are unaware that unsolicited packages can be part of a fraud scheme.
Why this will continue every year
- QR codes are now widely accepted, especially after the shift to digital menus and mobile check-ins.
- Scammers can ship small items cheaply at scale.
- The tactic plays on human curiosity and trust.
- Black Friday increases the volume of deliveries, making unsolicited packages seem less suspicious.
The brushing scam has evolved from a minor annoyance into a data-theft method that exploits the increase in package traffic during holiday sales.
