Shoppers Beware: How to Spot Fake Shopping Apps and Scams

With holiday shopping ramping up this week, most of us dread getting into that mall maze madness. It’s no wonder that more people than ever are tapping into their smartphones to get the shopping job done. But there’s something scary, although not unpredictable, happening. In case you haven’t heard, a storm of fake apps/scams has arrived to con holiday and post holiday online shoppers. Many of the fake apps are counterfeits of popular stores—ranging from Nordstrom to Dollar Tree to Christian Dior. Now’s the time to get smart so you can avoid getting so caught up in the holiday shopping frenzy that you let your guard down.

We’ve already taught you how to avoid gift card scams. Now, are you ready to learn how to identify fake retail apps? Ready or not, here you go.

Shoppers Beware: Avoid Fake Shopping Apps and Scams

According to the New York Times, hundreds of fake retail apps have been popping up in recent weeks on Apple’s App Store. With holiday shopping coming to a peak, shoppers are advised to beware of fake retail apps. These shopping apps act like and look like authentic shopping apps, but are actually scams targeting consumers’ private data.

As more short on time consumers pick up their smartphone and iPads to do last minute holiday shopping, cyber crooks will try just about anything to scam them out of their hard-earned money. When shoppers think they’re getting a great discount on luxury brand items, they often overlook one very crucial question: Is this too good to be true? Unfortunately, yes, it is.

The Dangers of Fake Retail Apps

This year, more people are expected to shop online than ever before. But before you get excited about an amazing deal, understand that cybercriminals are waiting to prey on holiday online shoppers like you.

Next page: How You Can Spot a Fake App!