{"id":356293,"date":"2025-07-11T00:27:07","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T18:57:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/?p=356293"},"modified":"2025-07-11T00:27:07","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T18:57:07","slug":"mcafees-summer-shopping-study-reveals-its-prime-time-for-smart-shopping","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/mcafees-summer-shopping-study-reveals-its-prime-time-for-smart-shopping\/","title":{"rendered":"McAfee\u2019s Summer Shopping Study Reveals: It\u2019s Prime Time for Smart Shopping"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"bw-subheadline-wrapper\">\n<p class=\"bwalignc\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><i>McAfee identifies 36,000 fake Amazon sites and a surge in delivery scam texts, warning Prime Day is prime time for scammers.<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"bwlistdisc\">\n<li>McAfee Labs reveals more than 36,000 fake Amazon sites and over 75,000 delivery and Amazon impersonation scam texts leading up to Prime Day.<\/li>\n<li>15% of Americans say they&#8217;ve been scammed during Prime Day or a similar shopping event. 84% of those victims lost money, with nearly 1 in 4 losing over $500 and 1 in 10 losing over $1,000.<\/li>\n<li>56% are more concerned about AI-generated scams this year than they were last year.<\/li>\n<li>46% of shoppers say they plan to spend more this Prime Day in hopes of saving money amid tariff-driven price hikes \u2013 particularly older people, 68% of whom say the same.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>McAfee, a global leader in online protection, today released its 2025 Global Prime Day Scams Study,<\/strong> revealing concerns about how scammers are using AI-powered technology to deceive Prime Day shoppers. McAfee Labs has identified over 36,000 fake Amazon websites and 75,000 Amazon impersonation texts designed to exploit the buzz of this event and steal shoppers\u2019 personal information and financial details.<\/p>\n<p>This year, 81% of Americans say they plan to shop online during Prime Day, making it a major opportunity for both retailers and scammers. While 89% report taking steps to stay safe online, nearly two-thirds (65%) admit they\u2019re not fully confident in their ability to spot a scam. That uncertainty is exactly what scammers are counting on and AI has made it even easier than ever to turbocharge shopping scams. Top scams this Prime Day include fake Amazon websites, deepfake videos of influencers who appear to sell or endorse products, and a surge in fake Amazon notification texts. These Amazon impersonation messages \u2013 ranging from delivery updates, to refunds, to tariff charges \u2013 are designed to create a sense of urgency that pressures people to click before they think.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs inflation and tariffs push more people to hunt for deals, scammers are using generative AI to craft scams that are more polished, personal, and persuasive,\u201d said <strong>Abhishek Karnik, Head of Threat Research at McAfee.<\/strong> \u201cFrom retailer impersonations and hyper-realistic delivery text scams, these threats are getting harder to spot. The good news is that the tools to fight back are getting smarter too. The best way to stay safe is to pause before you click, trust your instincts, and use AI-powered protection like McAfee\u2019s Scam Detector to stay one step ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b>Tariffs Drive Shopping \u2013 and Scams<\/b><\/p>\n<p>With people concerned about the impact of tariffs on prices, nearly half of Americans (46%) say they plan to shop more during Prime Day to stretch their budgets, a trend even more pronounced among older adults. 68% of shoppers aged 65 and up cite tariffs as a key reason for seeking out Prime Day deals.<\/p>\n<p>But this surge in deal-seeking can come at a cost. Scammers often target older consumers with offers that seem too good to pass up.<\/p>\n<p><b>Scroll, Shop, Scam<\/b><\/p>\n<p>While older adults tend to be more cautious, younger shoppers are far more likely to take risks on unfamiliar brands \u2014 especially on social media. Nearly a quarter of 18\u201334-year-olds say they\u2019re willing to buy from unknown retailers if the deal looks good, with 22% of 18\u201324s and 21% of 25\u201334-year-olds ready to click.<\/p>\n<p>That openness comes with a trade-off. Platforms like TikTok Shop and Instagram Shopping are fast becoming hotspots for scam exposure. Nearly 1 in 3 young shoppers say they\u2019ve encountered deepfake influencer scams during past sale events, and of those, 71% say either they or someone they know lost money. With 29% of shoppers browsing TikTok Shop and 10% using Instagram Shopping, these social platforms are both a go-to for deals and a growing risk.<\/p>\n<p><b>Scam Anxiety Meets Smart Protection<\/b><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not just what people buy \u2014 it\u2019s how and when they\u2019re shopping. Nearly 1 in 3 Americans admit they\u2019ve clicked a suspicious link or made a purchase while multitasking or shopping late at night. And 37% say a scam, or the fear of one, has stopped them from checking out entirely.<\/p>\n<p>But consumers aren\u2019t powerless: nearly half (45%) say they\u2019d consider using a scam detection tool to add peace of mind to their Prime Day experience, and nearly a quarter (24%) say they absolutely would.<\/p>\n<p><b>How to Protect Yourself this Prime Day<\/b><\/p>\n<ul class=\"bwlistdisc\">\n<li><b>Verify before you trust.<\/b>\u00a0Retailers are unlikely to call you about suspicious activity or unauthorized purchases. Always go directly to the source, such as the Amazon app, to check your account instead of trusting links in messages or unsolicited phone calls.<\/li>\n<li><b>Protect your shopping experience.<\/b>\u00a0Turn on two-factor authentication for extra account protection, use strong, unique passwords, shop only on secure websites (look for \u201c\u00a0<span class=\"bwuline\">https:\/\/<\/span>\u201d and the padlock icon), monitor your bank and credit card statements for unusual charges, and go straight to the retailer\u2019s site or app instead of clicking text or email links you\u2019re not sure about.<\/li>\n<li><b>Watch for red flags.<\/b>\u00a0If a message pressures you to act fast, demands payment through gift cards or wire transfers, asks for personal info, or insists you stay on the line or keep quiet\u2014hit pause. These are classic scam signals. Taking a moment to think can be the difference between scoring a deal and walking into disaster.<\/li>\n<li><b>Use AI-powered scam protection.<\/b>\u00a0Use trusted tools like McAfee\u2019s Scam Detector, that spot and flag suspicious links and scams before they can do harm.<\/li>\n<li><b>Trust your instincts.<\/b>\u00a0If something feels off, or too good to be true, it probably is.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>McAfee identifies 36,000 fake Amazon sites and a surge in delivery scam texts, warning Prime Day is prime time for scammers. McAfee Labs reveals more than 36,000 fake Amazon sites and over 75,000 delivery and Amazon impersonation scam texts leading up to Prime Day. 15% of Americans say they&#8217;ve been scammed during Prime Day or [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16751,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-356293","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cyber-security"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356293\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}