--- title: Scammers Are Launching Thousands of Fake Online Stores Ahead of Black Friday description: Thousands of fake websites impersonating popular brands are popping up ahead of Black Friday. Here's how to spot (and avoid) the scams. authors: - name: Gabriel O. Rodriguez Cruz role: Associate Editor url: https://money.com/author/gabriel-rodriguez/ bio: Gabriel Rodríguez is an editor at Money who covers financial technology and digital security. His two main topics of expertise are identity theft protection services and crypto, specifically crypto wallet and crypto exchanges. education: University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras at_money_since: 2018 articles: 113 covers: - Personal Finance - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Economy and Politics - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Mortgages - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriel-rodriguez-cruz/ editors: - name: Kaitlin Mulhere role: Editor url: https://money.com/author/kaitlin-mulhere/ bio: Kaitlin Mulhere has been covering the intersection of college and personal finance since 2015. She enjoys breaking down the complexities of college costs and financial aid, and she also runs Money’s Best Colleges. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2015 articles: 218 covers: - Personal Finance - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/KMulhere - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaitlin-mulhere-64503048/ published: '2026-11-06T15:24:57.000Z' modified: '2026-11-06T15:24:57.000Z' section: Personal Finance word_count: 510 canonical: https://money.com/black-friday-scams-fake-online-stores/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Hand holding a phone with a big Red exclamation point, with a broken lock, money, and credit cards in the background](https://img.money.com/2026/10/Scam-Alert-V6.jpg) Black Friday is still a few weeks away, but scammers are already preparing to take advantage of unsuspecting shoppers hunting for holiday deals. Cybersecurity company NordVPN has uncovered a network of more than 10,000 fraudulent online stores impersonating 166 popular fashion and luxury brands. The websites appear designed to lure Black Friday shoppers across 26 countries, including the United States, into handing over their credit card information. According to the new research from NordVPN, 1,549 of the counterfeit stores were fully operational as of earlier this week, with thousands more potentially preparing to launch ahead of the year's biggest shopping event. The websites impersonate familiar brands, including Adidas, Ralph Lauren, Dr. Martens, Crocs and Birkenstock. Each website is designed to resemble an official brand outlet, complete with localized addresses and familiar payment logos. "Every one of these stores is designed to look exactly like the official brand website for your country," Marijus Briedis, chief technology officer at NordVPN, said in a statement. "They show the right language, the right currency, a prestigious local address and familiar payment logos." While France and Germany are among the most heavily targeted markets, NordVPN identified 91 domains targeting the United States. The operation is particularly concerning because shoppers don't necessarily have to click suspicious advertisements to encounter these websites. NordVPN found that the stores are optimized to appear in Google search results, potentially giving them the appearance of legitimacy. Some stores have even surfaced in recommendations from artificial intelligence-powered shopping assistants. NordVPN found that Perplexity recommended two fraudulent stores alongside legitimate retailers, while ChatGPT and Gemini cited other websites connected to the network. The fake stores also display payment logos for services such as PayPal and Klarna, even though NordVPN found that they don't actually accept those payment methods. Instead, researchers identified payment systems designed to collect shoppers' credit card information. ## How to avoid fake Black Friday shopping websites As Black Friday approaches, shoppers should be especially cautious about unfamiliar websites advertising steep discounts on popular merchandise — a common tactic in [holiday shopping scams](https://money.com/holiday-shopping-scams-2026/?apxa1=homepage). NordVPN recommends visiting retailers' official websites directly by typing their official web address into your browser or using their app, rather than relying on links found through search engines, social media or AI shopping assistants. Even when a website appears in a legitimate search result or AI-generated recommendation, that doesn't guarantee it's trustworthy. Pay close attention to the website's address. Scammers often make subtle changes to legitimate brand names, such as adding extra letters, inserting hyphens or using unfamiliar domain extensions to make counterfeit stores appear authentic. Shoppers should also be skeptical of websites prominently advertising "Black Friday," "Sale" or "Outlet" deals, particularly when the prices seem unusually low. A professional-looking website or familiar payment logo isn't proof that a retailer is legitimate. Before entering payment information, verify that the checkout process matches the payment methods advertised on the website. Anyone who has already entered credit card information on a suspicious website should contact their card issuer immediately, report any unauthorized charges and request a replacement card if necessary. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/black-friday-scams-fake-online-stores/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Personal Finance", "item": "https://money.com/personal-finance/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Scammers Are Launching Thousands of Fake Online Stores Ahead of Black Friday" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/black-friday-scams-fake-online-stores/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/black-friday-scams-fake-online-stores/", "name": "Scammers Are Launching Thousands of Fake Online Stores Ahead of Black Friday", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2026-11-06T15:24:57.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/black-friday-scams-fake-online-stores/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/black-friday-scams-fake-online-stores/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2026-11-06T15:24:57.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "Scammers Are Launching Thousands of Fake Online Stores Ahead of Black Friday", "articleSection": "Personal Finance", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2026/10/Scam-Alert-V6.jpg", "width": 1488, "height": 992, "caption": "Scam-Alert-V6" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gabriel O. 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