TYSONS CORNER, Va. — While the majority of shoppers still prefer to visit brick-and-mortars on Black Friday, there are still about a third of people planning to shop online, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).
The NRF said their annual survey showed that 183.4 million people plan to shop in-store and online from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday.
131.7 million people plan to shop on Black Friday, according to that same survey -- with 65% still opting to shop in store.
One of those shoppers is Jenny Juarez-Lopez, who arrived to Tysons Corner Center at 5:15 a.m. to buy a Christmas LEGO set.
"I thought today would be cheaper, and I just checked and it low key is, and you get gift with purchase, and I like getting those," she said. “I wasn’t sure if they had a limited supply of gift with purchase or if they would run out of my things, so I decided to come here to get it over with. LEGO is popular, so…”
If you are not a habitual brick-and-mortar shopper like Juarez-Lopez, there are ways you can protect yourself while shopping online, especially now that Artificial Intelligence is in the mix.
Here are some tips to shop online safely:
Sources: McAfee and the Better Business Bureau
- Look for secure URL’s, which will be marked by a padlock or “https." These are trusted websites.
- Do NOT click on websites that have typos in the URL.
- Verify a seller’s reviews and ratings – they should have some on Google or Yelp or Amazon.
- Create strong passwords for your online accounts, so it's probably best to change the one you have been using for years.
- Visit the website’s trust seal, which is created by a certificate authority to confirm a site is legitimate. You’ll likely see that badge on a website’s payment page.
Advice for AI Awareness:
Source: Citizens Bank
- Beware of any unexpected emails from someone you know or any ones requesting personal information -- those could be scammers using AI to masquerade as loved ones.
- Let calls from unknown numbers go to voicemail. If it’s someone you actually know, they’ll likely leave a voicemail or text you.
- Establish a safe word with your friends and family to avoid AI voice cloning.