Never click on Black Friday $19 offer that looks too good to be true – or it’ll steal all your money instantly
CYBERCRIME experts often warn that if a deal seems too good to be true it usually is.
That’s true in the case of this $19 Stanley Cup Black Friday deal.
Stanley Cups are popular products that went viral on social media.
Scammers are known to jump on trends and try and trick victims into giving away money for sought-after products.
Experts at Malware Bytes have flagged a Stanley Quencher advert they spotted on Facebook.
The ad is fake and pretends to offer Stanley Quenchers for just $19.
Usually, the cups are priced at around $45 so already the price seems too good to be true.
If you click on the Facebook ad you’re taken to a shady website.
It’s a fake version of the legitimate Dick’s Sporting Goods webpage.
Malware Bytes warns: “Both the site and the payment processor are registered in Hong Kong and will happily pocket your money without doing anything in return.
“To gain the buyer’s trust, the Facebook comments are populated by bots and/or compromised accounts.”
If you enter your bank details into the site you risk giving them straight to scammers and losing your $19.
To avoid scams like this, it’s best to only hunt for products you want on reputable websites.
Ignore adverts on social media that seem suspicious and do your own research.
You should also report scam adverts whenever you spot them.
This can help social media platforms stop scammers from reaching more victims or creating new scams on the site.
Malware Bytes adds: “Remember, if it’s too good to be true it probably isn’t true, and could mean someone is trying to trick you into paying for something you’re never going to get.”