Sussex Police warn of Black Friday scams

Police say shoppers sometimes pay deposits and never receive their items

Sussex Police and banks are urging shoppers to be aware of scammers on Black Friday.

Criminals sometimes use cloned websites to convince shoppers that they are purchasing from a genuine site.

Jim Winters, Nationwide's head of economic crime, says Black Friday can make consumers more vulnerable and "provides the perfect backdrop for criminals to operate".

He advised customers to use reputable websites and pay by credit card whenever possible.

"More suspicious sites will encourage you to pay outside of a recognisable scheme where you don't have the same levels of protection," Mr Winters told BBC Radio Sussex.

He said that anyone who thought they had been scammed should tell their bank straight away.

PC Bernadette Laurie, Sussex Police's financial abuse safeguarding officer, encouraged any victims of scams to report them to police.

"Some of the common traits we see with scams is that pressure, that secrecy, that urgency and all of those things combine with the Black Friday's too-good-to-be-true deals," she said.

What started as a single day of sales in November now lasts for weeks

Alan Bruzon from Citizens Advice, Eastbourne, said it was worth checkin- in with a friend to get a second opinion before making a purchase.

"These things can seem really quite exciting and they do pressure you to respond really quickly," he said.

Research from consumer website Which? found only 2% of discounted products are cheapest on Black Friday and said customers should not feel pressured into panic buying.

However, retail expert Theresa Wickham said: "If there's something you want and you've done your homework and you see you can get 25% then you're in with a win win."