Researchers revealed last week that thousands of fake Amazon sites went online right before Prime Day kicked off. These aimed to trick people into downloading malware on their devices, allowing the perpetrators to steal all their information or make malicious purchases.
While Amazon Prime Day only has a few hours left, scammers are sure to return next big sales season. These incidents regularly rise ahead of events such as Christmas or Black Friday.
However, you can get ahead of the game and grab a tool that can help you fight online shopping scams now, while it's still discounted. NordVPN is among the top tools to fight against fake shops and phishing. Even better news, you can now grab a 2-year discounted NordVPN plan and get up to $50 worth of Amazon gift cards – TechRadar readers even get 4 months of free protection on top. The deal is set to expire at the end of July.
How to protect against online shopping scams
When it comes to fake shops and online shopping scams, your judgment should be your most important tool for avoiding them.
It's important to learn how to recognize online scams' red flags, and be wary of too good to be true offers, malicious ads, dodgy-looking sites, and unsolicited messages.
That said, technology is getting better at helping fight back against these threats.
Crucially, many virtual private network (VPN) services now include capabilities to block potentially malicious sites, dodgy ads, and even malware before loading into your device.
Besides NordVPN, ExpressVPN, ProtonVPN, and IPVanish all offer an ad/malware blocker to boost your protection against these threats.
In June 2024, however, NordVPN decided to upgrade its current Threat Protection system by adding a new tool, Threat Protection Pro, to specifically block more sophisticated online scams.
What was previously known as Threat Protection Lite is a DNS filter, similar to the one offered by ExpressVPN and IPVanish, which blocks harmful websites, trackers, and ads only on the domain level while you are connected to the VPN.
In contrast, Threat Protection Pro works at multiple levels to help you avoid tracking, phishing, scams, malware, and annoying ads, while even notifying you about potential zero-day phishing attempts before clicking on them. You'll need to upgrade to one of the top-tier plans to take advantage of this protection, though.
If you're looking for a reliable anti-scam tech solution, however, I believe it's worth upgrading. The tool has yet again been rewarded by industry leaders, AV-Comparatives recently, for its ability to detect and block phishing websites, meaning NordVPN remains the only VPN with certified phishing protection. Surely, it's better to sign up now while NordVPN's Prime deal is still up for grabs.
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
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