The FMA put up a video of Tom Sainsbury poking fun at scam victims as part of fraud awareness week. It caused complaints from scam victims but aimed to raise awareness about online charlatans.
Video / Supplied
Shoppers are being warned to watch out for two scamfests just as retailers might hope for major shopping events to boost flagging fortunes.
Black Friday, an American import, will involve many Kiwi retailers offering discounts and specials on November 24.
And online retailers are hoping to whip up enthusiasm forCyber Monday on November 27.
But Westpac said these two big days were also highlights in the calendar for con artists.
“Scammers may send emails and create fake ads or social media accounts directing you to sites that take your payment details,” the bank said in a warning to its app users.
ASB sent a fresh warning to customers on Friday about scams, and said it now deployed artificial intelligence (AI) to detect suspicious and unusual behaviour.
Buyers were not the only people at risk as shopping season heated up.
“Sellers can also be scammed. Wait until you see the payment in your account before you part with sold goods,” ASB added.
Microsoft also said cybercriminals were increasingly adopting AI.
Scammers could use AI to outsmart people using the old strategies of checking for spelling mistakes or poor grammar in phishing scams.
“They also align their scams to holiday periods and associated sales, like Black Friday and Boxing Day,” Microsoft’s Australasia chief security officer Mark Anderson said.
“Scammers know we are all looking for those really good deals, especially when a lot of Kiwis are doing it tough economically, and they’ll use that knowledge to try trick us out of our money and data.”
Some scammers were expected to escalate their efforts beyond this month and into Christmas, and fake charities have been used before to trap well-intentioned donors.
Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young said Kiwi shoppers could protect themselves and help local business by shopping with legitimate New Zealand outlets.
“You do have to be really thorough in 2023 because some of these scammers can be quite sophisticated.”
She said many retailers were in trouble and their survival in 2024 hinged on a successful few weeks from now to the New Year.
Retail NZ says many businesses will need a strong fourth quarter to have any hope of trading in 2024. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Inflation, cost of living challenges, and other household budget pressures had shoppers wary of splurging in recent months.
“What we’re hearing is that it’s been a really difficult year, and they’re really relying on a boost in sales in this last quarter.”
Young said recent Stats NZ sales data was especially problematic because the downturn happened despite an increase in resident population and foreign visitor numbers.
She said Black Friday originated on the late November US holiday long weekend.
“The big jam is, everyone spends time with whānau and friends on Thursday ... then on Friday they get out and hit the shops.”
By the 1980s, Black Friday was a US institution. It took a few decades to reach New Zealand.
“Some businesses take up on the idea and it just grows from there.”
Many shops embraced Black Friday promotions as a way of getting people off the couch and into the stores.
“If you’ve got people coming into the store, it tells you people are going to start buying,” Young added.
Some retailers in New Zealand had already started early Black Friday sales this week.
Price comparison service PriceSpy said Black Friday could help shoppers benefit from reduced prices ahead of the more expensive Christmas gift-buying season.
