Black Friday Week begins on Monday, November 20, the week before the official date of the event. Then the promotions continue even during the weekend of Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 November to end with Cyber Monday on Monday 27 November 2023.

In addition to the fake promotions frequently noted by consumer organizations, numerous fraudulent advertisements intended to defraud you or steal your personal data proliferate during the Black Friday.

Watch out for fake sites that mimic existing brands! You will never receive the ordered product and will be paid for it.

During this period, also be vigilant against fraudulent messages (emails, SMS, social media ads) intended to steal your personal or banking data. Sharing your personal data with scammers can be expensive: identity theft, fraudulent banking transactions...

You may also be a victim of false technical support or a malware settled without your knowledge on your computer.

How to avoid scams?

Beware of overly generous offersHowever, these are often misleading proposals. Compare the price of the product you want to buy on known sites. Check that this is the site of the well-known brand by carefully inspecting the URL (address that appears in the address bar at the top of your browser), by going directly to the merchant site to check the existence and price of the advertised product.

If it is a letter received by email, carefully check the sender's address, look for all the signs of fraud: mistakes in the name of the brand, spelling mistakes, unusual labels, extension that is not in .fr or .com...

Beware of phishing, when you receive an email with interesting promotions, avoid clicking on the links. Go directly to the sign's website.

Take time for reflection, you think you have found the right deal, you are relaunched by a pseudo online seller or you are pressed by a flash sales countdown... Be careful and don't give your credit card number too quickly.

Don't call back not recklessly overtaxed numbers, prefer to recall the official number of the trader, carrier or VAS concerned that you will find on its official website.

Make certain verifications before buying (actual existence and seller's reputation, reality of promotion, risk of counterfeiting, security of the transaction...).

Use a strong and different password for each application or website.

What if you are a victim of an online scam?

Report scams to site internet-signaling.gouv.fr, the Office central de lutte contre la criminalité liée aux technologies de l'information et de la communication platform.

To find out about scams or to report a scam website or email, a bank details theft or a phishing attempt: you can contact Info Scams at 0 805 805 817 (free call from the UK) from Monday to Friday from 9am to 6.30pm.

Go to cyber malware.gouv.fr, the National Platform for Assistance to Victims of Cybermalicious Acts. It provides information about digital threats and how to protect against them.