Black Friday – learn how to avoid scams

Want to shop on Black Friday? Then you need to be careful not to fall for scams.

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Every year, in November, the long-awaited Friday full of promotions arrives. We're talking about Black Friday!

If you're thinking about shopping, you know that it's worth waiting for this day. After all, Black Friday offers really advantageous discounts.

The problem is that some people take advantage of this date to commit scams or, incredibly enough, increase the prices of these products (lying about the promotion).

And to help you stay away from these traps, we have prepared this article for you. Below, check out the essential precautions to avoid falling into any traps on this day:

1. Buy from reputable sites

Low prices are the main advantage of Black Friday.

However, promotions should not be the only criterion for purchasing. Before entering your bank details and making a payment, check the reputation of the store you intend to buy from.

Fortunately, most of them are trustworthy. Even so, you need to be careful not to fall for scams.

Remember that you will be providing confidential information, such as credit card number, address, CPF, etc.

For this reason, you can never be too careful!

To check the reputation of the establishment, you can do a search on social media. Look for the brand's posts and interactions with customers.

Also, take the opportunity to access the website Complain Here.

By searching the website, you can get more information about the store and customers' opinions about the service provided.

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2. Make a plan

If you're looking forward to Black Friday to take advantage of real discounts, start planning now.

Some online stores have the habit of increasing prices on a few days during Black Friday, to make you think you are buying products at a discount.

To help you better understand this increase, we will give you an example.

Imagine an online store that sells a perfume for R$150.00. But to make a profit, a few days before Black Friday, it increases the price of this perfume to R$180.00.

When Black Friday arrives, the same store changes the price to R$ 160.00.

The consumer, who was already researching prices, thinks he is getting a good deal, as he really believes he got R$ 20.00 off.

But in fact, he paid more for the same product.

So, if you are thinking about shopping on Black Friday, keep an eye out now.

This way, you will have more time to research prices and you will also know how to stay away from dishonest advertising.

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3. Research prices

On Black Friday, be sure to do some price research.

It is common for the same product to be sold at different prices in stores.

If you are going to make your purchase online, do a lot of research on Google to see which store offers the best discount (as long as it is trustworthy).

It is also important to keep an eye on the shipping costs of the products. After all, this cost can impact the final purchase price.

In this case, buying a more expensive product, but with lower shipping costs, can even be a way to save money.

If you want to shop in a physical store, don't be lazy about visiting several establishments.

You can be sure: doing price research is one of the best ways to save on Black Friday.

4. Avoid suspicious links

If you received a promotion via SMS, email or WhatsApp, but are unsure about the authenticity of the link, do not click on it under any circumstances.

On Black Friday, or even a few days before, it is common to see hackers and dishonest people trying to scam people who want to buy new products.

Some ads may present offers that appear to be very advantageous and from reputable companies, but are accompanied by an unknown link.

If you click on the link and become the victim of a cyberattack or make a purchase and do not receive the product at home, it will be difficult to recover the amount spent.

Therefore, be wary of suspicious links.

If you received a link from a store that seems trustworthy, such as Americanas, but you are not sure if the ad is really from the company, do not click on the link.

If possible, contact the store's customer service department to report the incident. This way, the company can alert consumers about the new scam.

Remember that when making a purchase, you will provide your credit card number (if you choose this payment method). Therefore, you can never be too careful.

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5. Be careful with installments

Pay attention to the installment options that some companies offer.

There are situations where the charge is so high that the final price is not even worth it, even if the promotion seems tempting.

In fact, this is one of the main precautions that can hinder your financial planning when shopping on Black Friday.

By the way, since we are talking about consumption, be sure to consider the budget you have available to make new purchases.

Even though installment payments may seem like a good idea at first, check that you are not paying extra interest because of it.

Of course, it's worth using your credit card to make online purchases, not only because of the possibility of paying in installments, but also because of the convenience.

Just be careful not to pay much more for the same product!

6. Use a secure connection

Public connections are more vulnerable to attacks that can steal sensitive consumer data.

However, even on private networks, it is necessary to check the security of the website.

When you access the shopping cart, check if the padlock icon appears in the address bar. This icon shows that the security certificate is active and the data has been encrypted.

Conclusion

Taking advantage of promotions is something everyone likes, right?

But you need to be careful not to fall for Black Friday scams! That way, you can avoid promotions without any headaches later!