Shoppers urged to be fraud aware as Black Friday spending surge looms

Irish shoppers have been warned to be on their guard when planning Black Friday sales purchases this week, as new data showed online spending surged last year.
Data from AIB show that its customers made almost one million transactions online last year on Black Friday, with shoppers spending €105 million in 24 hours, or €1,200 every second. That was an 11 per cent rise on 2022 data, and set new spending records.
Shoppers also spent in person, with AIB reporting €80 million was spent in stores. Clothing purchases were top of the list, with €15 million spent in-store and online, making it the busiest day for clothing
The biggest spenders on a transaction basis among AIB customers last year were Dublin, Wicklow and Roscommon, while Longford, Roscommon and Sligo showed the largest increase in spending.
“Black Friday 2023 broke all records for online spend and indications are that this year will be no different as shoppers hunt for good value ahead of Christmas,” said Adrian Moynihan, head of consumer at AIB.
But online bank Revolut predicts a more thoughtful approach to spending in the sales, with 30 per cent of Irish consumers it surveyed saying they would cut back on sale shopping as they tried to be more responsible with their money.
However, one in five said they still planned to treat themselves to something new, particularly among the younger 18 to 24 age group. And almost half of 18 to 34 year olds said they would buy things they wouldn’t normally be able to afford.
More than 40 per cent said they planned to support small businesses and avoid long delivery times by shopping in physical stores.
AIB urged customers to be alert to potential scams.
“For those of us who will be buying online this Black Friday, we are urging people to be fraud aware as the number of scams will be on the rise at this time of year. Remember, if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is,” Mr Moynihan said.
The bank advised people to make sure the websites they are shopping on are secure and genuine by checking for the padlock symbol to the left of the web address. “If it’s not there, beware,” is the advice.
With so many transactions, customers should also be aware of fraudsters taking advantage, it advised.
“Beware of text messages or calls pretending to be from a bank, delivery or courier company or utility provider. Exercise extreme caution and never click on a link in a text message. Ring the company on their advertised number to check if a call is genuine.”