Hundreds of thousands of fake sites posing as reputable brands including Apple and Adidas are luring consumers in with hefty discounts on Christmas gifts. So, here’s how to spot a sale that’s too-good-to-be true
Thousands of fake Apple websites are luring Brits in with ‘too-good-to-be true’ deals on iPhones. In the build-up to Christmas, most of us are scrawling through the internet trying to find the best price we can. But sometimes, our determination to save a couple of quid could actually backfire – and see us waste hundreds before the big day.
Computer security company McAfee recently revealed that in the six weeks to November 12, consumers have attempted to access more than 624,000 suspicious or malicious websites claiming to be household name brands, including Adidas and luxury sellers like Rolex and Louis Vuitton. A whopping 77,980 of these sites, which can steal personal data and install malware onto your device, were posing as e-commerce sites selling Apple products.
Many of these sites look just like the real thing, and scammers have got pretty good at hiding clear giveaways they’re not genuine. iPhone sales range from just 25 per cent off – to give the illusion that it’s a reasonable discount – to a more suspicious 90 per cent off retail price to bait those looking for mega savings.
“The easiest and most foolproof way to tell a real from a fake Apple site is to look at the URL itself,” a spokesperson from McAfee told The Sun. “While Apple has a few region-specific domain names, when in doubt users can navigate directly to apple.com and search for the product they’re interested in purchasing there.”
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Hackers will often use a URL extremely similar to the site its pretending to be, with the exception of just one character. So, make sure you’re on the lookout for any grammatical errors before clicking onto a site. If you however your mouse over any website, a pop-up should show the URL.
If you come across a deal that seems too good to be true: chances are it is. While reputable sellers and brands do something cut their prices for initiatives like Black Friday and the Boxing Day sales – if you’re saving mega buck compared to the original seller, you need to ask yourself why that is.
Installing computer security software on your laptop or device is another good method to help sift out suspicious sites. Google Shopping is the one of the most reliable tools for finding the cheapest price for your Christmas gift, but it’s still worth using the tips above to avoid falling for any scams.
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