ARLINGTON, Va. (7News) — It’s that time of year: packed stores, packed sidewalks, and packed shopping bags, with Black Friday only days away.
“I actually got this nice sweater. I may use it for Thanksgiving,” shopper Jamont Hike said outside the Pentagon City Mall in Arlington Saturday night.
“Usually, we stay home. We do some online shopping,” shopper Rola Sabbagh said.
While that may be more convenient, a Virginia Tech computer science professor warns against online scammers looking to take advantage of holiday shoppers.
“You may be getting some emails for super duper deals,” Murat Kantarcioglu said.
He advises consumers to be alert to texts or emails that appear to be from retailers but are actually scams.
“Don’t trust emails by themselves; definitely go to the website yourself. Don’t click on the links, also again go to the website,” Kantarcioglu said.
RELATED | DC’s street vendors rely on holiday shopping to bounce back from shutdown sales slump
The professor noted that artificial intelligence has made scam emails more convincing, making vigilance crucial, particularly for seniors who are often targeted.
“Basically, before AI, sometimes scammers make easy mistakes like spelling errors and so on, so forth, but with AI, the emails you receive become much more believable,” Kantarcioglu said.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) predicts a record 187 million people will shop from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, an increase of 3 million from last year.
While some shoppers prefer in-person sales to avoid online scams, others are becoming more aware of the risks.
“It’s so scary now that you mention that, and I think everybody should be more aware that this is happening,” Hike said.
RELATED | Homeowner’s controversial 3-story addition has Fairfax County leaders look at zoning rules
As scams grow more sophisticated, the professor advises everyone to exercise caution.
“Everyone will need to be more careful moving forward,” Kantarcioglu said.