5 keys to avoid becoming a victim of a scam online this Black Friday

Black Friday has become in the lobby of the sales of winter and the kick off of holiday shopping for many consumers. Although it is a short period of time, concentrating a large number of commercial transactions: according to a study of TandemUp, 27% of the users that I was going to buy on Black Friday I thought I was going to spend more on this date in Christmas. It is a time in which shopping online outweigh loosely to those performed in a physical store: a 68% vs 32%, respectively. But in this scenario it is necessary to take precautions, as nearly one out of every four transactions on the website was potentially dangerous for the client in 2022 in Spain.

For all these factors, the ‘black Friday’ and its already inseparable brother, the ‘Cyber Monday’, are the dates as indicated to get real bargains like to become a niche nasty scams.

Andrés Soriano, director of cyber security (CISO) of the Instituto Superior de FP UNIVERSAE (, insists that, to avoid falling into this kind of deception, "our best allies are the common sense and caution", and points out five basic guidelines that it is recommended to follow:

– Protects your systems through the software updates and the use of anti-virus: Something as simple as keeping the operating system and applications up to date "is the best armor against external attacks, in addition to repair gaps that can be exploited by criminals", explains Soriano, "and to detect the possible and unintentional download of malicious software."

– Purchase on trusted web sites: To avoid any more of a scare in the bank account, it is appropriate to "perform operations only in portals contrasting". Otherwise, it may order as desired may never come.

– Do not rely on chollos disproportionate: Although both the Black Friday as Cyber Monday are characterized by their large discounts, keep in mind that companies tend to price match the competition. In this way, "if you look at a bargain disproportionate, and contrasts its price on other sites, and investigates on the solvency and warranties that provides you with the selling company," says the CISO of UNIVERSAE (.

– Authentication in two steps: "This method is very simple, but it works perfectly as the firewall". Soriano refers to the also known as multi factor authentication, which is to configure a second step to authorize certain operations involved. This may consist of sending an SMS to your phone (the most common), a login on a second account or an app paired with your account or security key or fingerprint.

– The security lock next to the URL in the browser is not a synonym of legitimacy: Their appearance can be misleading, but "the 'candadito' that shows the browser's address bar indicates that the connection is protected and the data exchanged between the sender and the receiver are encrypted. But this does not confirm the legitimacy of the web site, for the criminals can also use secure connections on fraudulent sites," says Soriano. For this reason, he adds, "it is essential to always verify that the URL is correct and belongs to a reliable web before you provide personal or financial information". "Think of the lock as a private conversation secure, but not necessarily with the right person', summarizes the CISO of UNIVERSAE (.