Holiday weekends are known for big sales, limited-time promotions, and inboxes full of discounts — and Memorial Day is no exception.
As customers look for the best deals on appliances, clothing, furniture, mattresses, and outdoor items, scammers look for something too: quick clicks and eager shoppers.
Fake Memorial Day sale scams are designed to look like real promotions. You may see an ad for a major discount, a text about a flash sale, or an email that appears to come from a familiar company. The website may look polished. The products may look real. Most importantly, the countdown timer or deal expiration makes the offer urgent. Remember: urgency = red flag!
For scammers, Memorial Day isn’t even about selling you something. Their goal is worse. It’s to get your payment information, login credentials, or personal data. They want to take advantage of shoppers in order to steal their money.
One clue that a deal is a scam is if it feels unusually aggressive, even for a holiday sale. Another is if a website is pushing you to act immediately before the “offer expires.” Some fake sites also have strange web addresses, limited contact information, or awkward wording that doesn’t match the brand they claim to represent. Comb through the details and use your eagle eye before clicking “buy.”
A smart way to shop holiday sales is to go directly to the retailer’s official website rather than clicking links in ads, texts, or emails. If a promotion is real, you should be able to find it there.
Memorial Day sales can be a great opportunity to save money — but urgency and excitement are exactly what scammers use to lower your guard. Before you buy, take a moment to check where the link is taking you and whether the seller is legitimate.
A good deal should save you money, not put it at risk.