As the holiday shopping season kicks into high gear, spanning from Black Friday through Cyber Monday, savvy consumers are eagerly searching for the best deals. However, this bustling period also serves as a prime opportunity for scammers to prey on unsuspecting shoppers.

Industry experts caution consumers to remain vigilant, especially when encountering emails advertising exceptionally steep discounts, such as 80% to 90% off. While these offers might seem enticing, they often masquerade as legitimate communications from well-known retailers, leading recipients to fraudulent websites.

Alarmingly, there has been a 250% surge in the creation of counterfeit shopping sites, according to recent data provided by NordVPN. This spike highlights the growing sophistication of these scams, as perpetrators increasingly leverage artificial intelligence to craft websites that appear convincingly authentic.

To safeguard against these scams, experts advise consumers to scrutinize website URLs carefully. Ensuring that the web address features a padlock symbol and begins with “https” can offer some reassurance of a site’s legitimacy.

Experts say you always check the URL, and make sure it contains the padlock symbol and starts with “https.”

Also, shoppers should be aware of another scam where criminals send a package right to your own mailbox. It’s usually a very small gift, and it’s unsolicited.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service calls it the “brushing scam.”

The gift is often an imitation diamond, and it comes with a letter saying it’s free, and all you just need to do is register it through a QR code.

“Do not click on that QR code. Do not scan it. Do not provide any personal information,” U.S. Postal Inspector Marjan Barrigan-Husted told ABC7 On Your Side Investigates.

He said the personal information can be used to drain your accounts.

If you do happen to get a ring or any other small item from this type of scam in the mail, the gift is yours.

“You can keep the item if you want,” added Barrigan-Husted

The main takeaway is — as you do your online shopping, just be very wary of any suspicious links or QR codes. A great rule of thumb is that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.