Black Friday & Cyber Monday Scam Checklist (2026)
Holiday deals bring holiday scams: fake stores, too-good-to-be-true prices, delivery texts and gift card demands. Run through this checklist before you click Buy.
Before you buy
- Type the store's address yourself or use its app instead of clicking links in texts, emails or social ads.
- Check the web address carefully: look-alike domains swap or add letters.
- Search the store name plus scam or reviews if you've never heard of it.
- If the price is far below everyone else's, assume it is bait.
- Pay with a credit card where you can. Under U.S. law you can dispute charges for items you never received.
Red flags
- Payment by gift card, wire transfer, cryptocurrency or a payment app to a stranger.
- A countdown timer or "only 2 left" pressure on an unfamiliar site.
- A delivery text asking for a small "redelivery fee" or your card number.
- A "problem with your order" call that asks for a one-time code. Real companies don't ask you to read codes back.
If something went wrong
- Call your card issuer or bank using the number on the back of your card.
- Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Forward scam texts to 7726 (SPAM).
- If your identity was stolen, use IdentityTheft.gov.
Practice
Try the free Scam or Legit? quiz and print the Spot the Scam tip sheet for family members.
Keep going
Money: Master of Your Own Domainabout 2 hr 30 min
Personal finance · about 146 pages · by Oliver Mark
One practical roadmap for budgeting, debt, investing, insurance and life's big changes.
Includes chapters on identity theft and fraud protection.
📚 Read free with Kindle Unlimited (Kindle edition)
Digital Shadows in Californiaabout 2 hr 30 min
Cybersecurity thriller · about 145 pages (paperback) · by Mark Oliver
They stopped Virelli. Now a ghost called The Phantom wants every city at once.
Fiction for the long weekend: a cybersecurity team vs. a hacker called The Phantom.
📚 Read free with Kindle Unlimited (Kindle edition)
For general education only, not personalized financial, tax, legal or investment advice. Numbers are estimates based on what you enter. The Money series is written by Oliver Mark, a former licensed stockbroker (Series 7 and 63).
More free guides: all free guides · money calculators · Spot the Scam tip sheet