Alert: Protect Yourself from the Latest Black Friday Scam Sweeping the Nation

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While Black Friday officially starts on Friday, sales are already rolling out online as brands jump onto one of the busiest retail periods of the year.

But it can also be a tricky time for consumers navigating impulse buys and trying to work out whether a deal is actually as good as it seems.

More than half (53 per cent) of surveyed shoppers have regretted a purchase or had a negative experience during the Black Friday sales, according to a poll of 1,009 Australians from consumer advocacy group CHOICE.

Nearly half of the shoppers, approximately 47%, reported feeling pressured by Black Friday advertising to make purchases, while 52% admitted to spending more money than they had planned. Additionally, 28% found the quality of items they purchased fell short of their expectations.

That last one could be a sign of a new “widespread” scam operating in Australia — “ghost stores”.

Catriona Lowe, deputy chair at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), told SBS World News: “Increasingly, scammers are utilising technology very effectively.”

Experts warn that cybercriminals are crafting websites and emails that closely mimic legitimate businesses, making it difficult for consumers to discern the difference.

A graph showing how Australians feel about Black Friday spending.

In fact, 28% of those surveyed mentioned receiving items during Black Friday sales that did not meet their quality expectations, underlining the need for caution. Source: SBS News

Ghost stores look and feel like legitimate businesses — but they’re actually a new type of scam that has the ACCC on alert.

“They’re a relatively new type of scam that we’ve been hearing about more over the last year or so,” CHOICE’s Liam Kennedy said.

As Black Friday approaches, it’s important to understand what ghost stores are and learn strategies to avoid them during the shopping frenzy.

But they rarely — if ever — send consumers the product they paid for.

Professor Gary Mortimer, retail marketing researcher at the Queensland University of Technology, told SBS News: “You tend to find that what you’re buying either never turns up at your door or what turns up is basically a poor quality product, despite these ghost stores online looking like top-tier local brands.”

Telltale signs of a ghost store

Because ghost stores are designed to look legitimate, they can be difficult to spot at first glance. But there are a few red flags.

They typically sell clothing and shoes, often advertise through social media, and frequently rebrand under names that use Australian suburbs or cities to appear local.

“They craft a story where they’re this long-running business selling good quality products at a small scale, but they’ve had to close down … there’s usually a sob story involved,” Kennedy said.

They also tend to offer unusually steep discounts — often between 70 and 80 per cent — and use countdown timers or language like “time is running out” to create urgency, Mortimer said.

A quick search on social media can help uncover whether a business is legitimate.

“The ghost stores we saw that were still active on Facebook had just a handful of likes and followers,” Kennedy said.

“Any sort of local business selling good quality products for a decent amount of time will have much more than that.

“If there’s no physical address on its website, that’s also a big red flag.”

Rise of ghost stores

The consumer watchdog has in recent times warned of a rise in so-called ghost stores — and the urgency of Black Friday sales could make shoppers more susceptible, though the scam operates year-round.

In a July statement, the ACCC said an estimated 360 complaints had been made about 60 online retailers since the beginning of the year.

But the conduct “appears to be widespread” with many more likely in operation.

Canstar spokesperson Eden Radford said Black Friday is a “prime time for scammers”, who often create a sense of urgency to prey on shoppers.

“Scams, unfortunately, are nothing new to Australians. Canstar data shows 31 per cent receive at least one scam message a day,” she told SBS News.

“Of those who’ve fallen victim to a scam, 18 per cent have bought from a ghost store, or a seller that didn’t exist.”

Kennedy said complaints about ghost stores have increased over the past year, though he notes impersonation scams — where scammers copy big brands — are still more likely to flood the market this Black Friday.

What to do if you’ve been caught by a ghost store?

While ghost stores don’t typically steal credit card details, consumers can still lose money if they fall for them.

If you suspect you’ve been scammed, contact your bank to stop the transaction or lodge a claim for a chargeback, Kennedy said.

But don’t bother trying to send poor-quality products back for a refund.

“You end up losing more money on postage — the return addresses that ghost stores provide are often unreliable or fake,” he said.

Ghost stores may refuse refunds, offer only partial refunds, or ignore complaints entirely, the ACCC warns.

Lowe encourages consumers to act quickly: “If something doesn’t feel right, stop the contact. If you have paid money, contact your bank as soon as possible and report the matter to [the ACCC’s] ScamWatch.”

Mortimer warns consumers to take extra caution during Black Friday and to resist the urge to impulse buy.

“The cautionary note around sales periods is that we’re all rushing … We jump onto these sites, put in our credit card details and our order never turns up because it’s a ghost store or the quality is incredibly poor,” he said.