A new fake store goes live every three minutes, and the Black Friday ones are already open. Here’s how to spot one before you pay.

November 2, 2026

By Kim Komando

Black Friday is still weeks away. The fake Black Friday stores are already open.

What you get looks perfect. Real logos. Real product photos. A countdown clock and a pop-up saying “Linda in Ohio just bought this!” What you don’t get is the stuff you ordered.

Scamwise, a free scam-checking tool, looked at more than 250,000 shopping sites this year and flagged over 100,000 as scams. It spots about 500 new fake stores a day. That’s one every three minutes. And when shoppers got there through an ad, 8 in 10 of those ads ran on Google or Meta’s Facebook and Instagram.

🕵️ The tells of a fake store

Before you hit “Buy,” check for these:

• A price that’s too good. Real stores rarely knock 70% to 90% off name-brand gear. Scammers do it all the time.
• A brand-new site. Four in 10 scam stores were less than 90 days old. Search the store’s name plus “scam” or “reviews.” No history? Walk away.
• A funny web address. Watch for misspellings, extra words or endings like .shop or .store. A big brand’s store shouldn’t end in myshopify.com either.
• No real way to reach anyone. No phone number, no street address, just a contact form.
• A weird way to pay. Zelle, wire transfer, gift cards or crypto? That’s a scammer. Real stores take credit cards.

And always pay with a credit card, not a debit card. If the package never shows, you can dispute the charge and get your money back.

🛡️ Let your phone do the checking

Here’s the problem: Fake stores pop up and vanish so fast, nobody can memorize them all. That’s where NordVPN helps.*

I tested all the big ones before picking the official VPN of The Kim Komando Show. That’s NordVPN. I use it and so does my entire family.

Its Threat Protection feature checks websites before they load and blocks known scam and malware pages, so a fake store can get stopped before you ever type in your card. It also blocks trackers and many pop-up ads. Traveling for Thanksgiving? NordVPN scrambles your connection on hotel and airport Wi-Fi, too. Some great deals are legit.

✅ Get a 2-year plan from $3.37 a month, plus an extra 4 months at the same price, up to 78% off. Grab the deal here.

Already got burned? Call your card company today, then report the site at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

The best Black Friday deal is the one that actually shows up. What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta.

🗣️ Text/post this stat: A brand-new fake online store goes live every three minutes, and the Black Friday ones are already open. GetKim.com

📩 Send this to someone who clicks every “70% off” ad on Facebook.