Over a third of Americans have been on the receiving end of online shopping scams, marking a 3% increase from last year, a recent survey conducted by NordVPN and Cint revealed. But that’s not stopping eager shoppers from taking part in this year’s Black Friday or Cyber Monday shopping events.
The study took place from Oct. 16-27 and targeted residents in 12 countries, including the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. It involved asking respondents four questions about their experience with fraudulent deals and their shopping habits during Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas sales.
The survey found that almost 34 million Americans fell victim to scams during Cyber Monday and Black Friday.
Despite the risks, almost half of Americans (48%) plan to take advantage of this year’s sales. Meanwhile, 87% of US respondents said they’re willing to give up personal information, like email addresses, full names, and banking details for discounts, gifts, or free services. More than half said they’d share their name (51%) and email address (54%) for a good deal. Plus, 24% would reveal their home address and 4% would even share their children’s names.
Another unexpected finding is that 89% of consumers who have been scammed said they’d share personal information with retailers again for a good bargain.
“We have seen in the past that cybercriminals become very active during the shopping season, so the 160 million Americans who plan to take advantage of the deals this year should better be on their guard,” Adrianus Warmenhoven, a cybersecurity expert at NordVPN said in a statement. “The main thing we encourage people to remember this shopping season is if the offer looks too good to be true or a lot of personal information is requested from you to get a deal — you are probably being scammed.”