- A NordVPN analysis found a 250% jump in fake Black Friday shops
- Scammers use AI to copy retailer sites and steal data
- NordVPN Threat Protection Pro blocked 4.5 million malicious domains
Black Friday is almost here, bringing with it not only deep discounts but also the risk of fake online shops and other online scams.
Scammers are exploiting the holiday-season frenzy, flooding the web with counterfeit stores that promise impossible bargains. A recent NordVPN analysis – first reported by Euronews – shows a 250% jump in bogus e-commerce sites in the weeks leading up to the sales weekend.
These rogue sites jeopardize shoppers by siphoning payment details, stealing personal data, and steering victims into sophisticated investment scam schemes – all before the actual Black Friday sales day arrives. Investment fraud losses topped $5.7 billion in 2024 alone.
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NordVPN, the best VPN on the market according to TechRadar reviewers, has reported its Threat Protection Pro feature blocked more than 4.5 million malicious domains between March and October 2025. That’s a sign criminals are sharpening their tools as shoppers gear up for the biggest sales weekend of the year.
A perfect storm for Black Friday shoppers
NordVPN’s investigation highlights just how quickly fake storefronts pop up in the run-up to Black Friday.
By cloning the look and feel of major retailers – complete with “up to 70% off” banners and realistic product images – these sites lure unsuspecting consumers into entering credit card details, only to have the data harvested or otherwise sold on the dark web.
Many of these counterfeit shops disappear within hours of the sale, making it harder for authorities to track scammers down.
NordVPN’s Threat Protection Pro paints an equally alarming picture. Over an eight-month period, the service identified and blocked 4.5 million domains linked to phishing, fake shops, investment scams, and session-hijacking attacks.
“Scammers are evolving at an unprecedented pace, using AI not just to automate attacks but to make them deeply convincing,” said Marijus Briedis, chief technology officer (CTO) at NordVPN.
Artificial intelligence allows cybercriminals to generate persuasive copy, deep-fake voice calls, and even fully functional storefront templates. NordVPN points to the more than 120,000 malicious sites impersonating Amazon over the course of just two months.
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“AI is a double-edged sword: while it powers incredible innovations, it also equips scammers with tools to mimic legitimate communication flawlessly,” explained Briedis.
The convergence of these trends creates a perfect storm for Black Friday shoppers. The sheer volume of discounted offers fuels a sense of urgency, prompting users to click on ads they otherwise wouldn’t. This has resulted in a dramatic uptick in successful fraud attempts, with investment-related scams alone costing victims an estimated $5.7 billion worldwide in 2024.
How NordVPN’s Threat Protection Pro can help shoppers
(Image credit: Future)
Protecting yourself against fake shops and internet scams is in big part down to the basics like checking HTTPS certificates, verifying retailer URLs, and avoiding offers that seem just too good to be true.
However, NordVPN’s Threat Protection Pro is designed to counter this kind of sophisticated, large-scale abuse, blocking not only ads and trackers, but also malicious domains and phishing domains.
Threat Protection Pro had its phishing protection certified by AV-Comparatives after blocking 90% of phishing URLs in testing. Notably, it has earned certified Fake Shop Protection on the back of this.
Available for Windows and Mac, Threat Protection Pro works through real-time domain filtering that automatically denies connections to newly-identified scam sites – including the flood of fake Black Friday shops.
Threat Protection Pro provides scam and fraud alerts and, if you are based in the US, can be paired with NordVPN’s NordProtect, whose identity protection helps detect data breaches early.
Bear in mind, though, that you need to upgrade to one of NordVPN’s top-tier plans to get access to Threat Protection Pro. The good news is that thanks to NordVPN’s early Black Friday VPN deal is way cheaper than usual to do so…
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