Christmas shoppers warned over thousands of illegal iPhone deals – look out for instant red flag on all websites
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CHRISTMAS shoppers have been warned of a spike in fake Apple websites with 'too-good-to-be-true' iPhone deals. Consumers attempted to access more than 624,000 suspicious or outright malicious websites tied to household name brands in the six weeks to 12 November, according to data from McAfee.
![[If you're on a website with overly glitzy offers, McAfee encourages consumers to check the web address]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/image003-1.png?strip=all&w=960)
Experts at McAfee revealed to The Sun that a whopping 77,980 of these websites - or 12.5 per cent - are fake ecommerce sites selling Apple products. While McAfee was able to warn customers against using these sites, people without security software might fall victim.
These sites appear as official brand pages selling products for up to 90 per cent off their original price. Although the smaller discounts are more believable, and can therefore be more dangerous. "Scam sites typically advertise anywhere from 25 per cent to 90 per cent off items," a McAfee spokesperson told The Sun.
"Lower numbers, such as 25 per cent to 50 per cent off, appear more reasonable and may not cause suspicion. "Higher numbers such as 80 per cent and 90 per cent target those who are more focused on getting great deals and jumping on top of those deal as soon as they see them.".
The rise in fraudulent activity comes as consumers are well in the throes of holiday shopping, and may be more susceptible to clicking on offers from well-known brands. "We expect [the increase] to continue through the festive season," a spokesperson added.
