Strip to the skin: how scammers use the theme of autumn sales
Online scammers can use the theme of the autumn sales of clothes and shoes to deceive Russians, experts have warned about this. During the promotional season, buyers act impulsively, and real discounts of 50-70% accustom them to low prices, which is what the attackers use. For more information about which fraudulent schemes on clothing and shoe sales to expect in the fall of 2026, what are the dangers of such tricks and how to protect yourself from them, read the Izvestia article.
Why is the theme of the autumn clothing sales interesting to scammers
Stores have accustomed customers to seasonal price fluctuations — in October and November, discounts of 50-70% became the norm, which forms a stable consumer pattern, says Sergey Shcherbakov, technical director of Stakhanovets, an expert in the field of information security and IT, in an interview with Izvestia. It is this pattern that scammers exploit: they understand that in the autumn period, the offer with a big discount does not arouse suspicion.
— People want to buy clothes or shoes at a discount — this is a strong desire that drowns out common sense, — says the expert. — A person wants to save money, thinking that he has caught his luck. In fact, he had fallen into a trap.
Everyone buys clothes and shoes, from schoolchildren to pensioners, so the theme of the autumn sales allows you to cover almost all social groups, adds the deputy director of the Analytical Center of the IT company Ural Center for Security Systems Diana Zhukova. In addition, according to the expert, after the departure of a number of foreign brands, demand for them has remained, and offers of "originals from the warehouse" or "remnants of the collection" at a low price are resonating. All this makes the segment especially attractive to intruders.
— Finally, the fact that people are well aware of popular brands, but do not always understand their real value, plays into the hands of scammers, — says Sergey Polunin, head of the IT infrastructure solutions protection group at Gazinformservice.
What schemes on the topic of clothing sales should we expect in the fall of 2026
In the fall of 2026, fake stores and copies of well-known brand websites are likely to remain the key tools of fraudsters on the topic of autumn sales, says Alexander Vurasco, Director of Development at the Solar AURA External Digital Threat Monitoring Center (Solar Group).
"Attackers can use an outlet, a closed sale, or the disposal of warehouse leftovers as pretexts," the source tells Izvestia. — The user selects the product, specifies the delivery address and pays for the order, but no purchase takes place in the real store.
In addition, according to him, fake promo codes, gift certificates and clothing sweepstakes can be expected. To receive a discount, a person will be offered to log in to a fake page, and to receive the "won" item, they will have to pay for delivery. The amount may be small, so as not to cause much thought. Fake sweepstakes and pages for stealing access to personal accounts have already been repeatedly recorded by Solar AURA specialists.
In 2026, fraudsters are actively using AI to create fake online stores, as well as manipulate search results and AI assistants to recommend fraudulent resources as legitimate, adds Diana Zhukova. As the expert notes, the trigger of "being chosen" is also often used: the scam is presented as a "sale for their own" or a "closed pre-order" with payment via the SBP on individuals' cards. The probability of receiving goods in such schemes is close to zero.
"Potential victims may receive calls from fake couriers asking them to confirm delivery and give them the SMS code,— says Diana Zhukova. — An increase in deepfake advertising is also expected: neural networks allow you to quickly make a video in which a well-known blogger or stylist "recommends" a sale on a fake website.
Another scenario is fake order notifications: "the parcel is delayed at customs", "pay the duty" or "confirm the delivery address". The link in such a message leads to a phishing payment page, the specialist warns.
What schemes on the topic of clothing sales were previously found on the Web
Meanwhile, scammers have been trying to use various schemes on the theme of autumn sales of clothes and shoes for several years. In particular, Anastasia Patrusheva, a specialist in the cyber intelligence department at Bastion, says that previously there were fake websites and clone accounts of real brands on social networks with prices noticeably lower than the market, as well as phishing mailings about Black Friday or a personal discount.
— It was also possible to meet offers to pay for goods by transfer to an individual or to leave the official platform in a messenger for payment without commission, — the interlocutor of Izvestia tells. — In addition, the attackers use schemes with non-existent delivery, luring codes from SMS confirmation under the pretext of checking the "completed" order.
In October 2025, the number of spam emails in Russian mentioning Black Friday increased almost nine times compared to the same month in 2024, recalls Anna Osipova, senior spam analyst at Kaspersky Lab. At the same time, the attackers actively modify the texts of messages, fake the names of senders and the link structure in order to bypass security filters, including using AI tools to generate convincing texts and imitate the style of real retailers.
Such tricks are aimed at active online shoppers, primarily young people and women under the age of 45-50 who want to purchase seasonal items, explains Anastasia Patrusheva. The danger of such schemes goes far beyond losing money for a non-existent product: attackers can gain access to messenger accounts, personal and bank data in order to then steal funds or use the information in other attacks.
How to protect yourself from schemes on the theme of autumn clothing sales
In order to protect yourself from fraudulent schemes on the topic of autumn sales of clothes and shoes, experts interviewed by Izvestia advise following certain safety rules. It is better to start a purchase through a self-opened application or a previously verified store website, advises Alexander Vurasko.
— If an advertisement promises a sale of a well—known brand, you need to find this offer on its official resource, - says the expert. — The address should be checked in its entirety: a familiar logo and a similar name do not guarantee anything.
It is also better to look for reviews outside the seller's page, and the absence of complaints does not prove reliability — the resource could have appeared quite recently, the editorial interlocutor notes. Before making a payment, it is important to see who exactly the money is being sent to. If the seller on the marketplace offers to cancel the order and transfer the amount directly for the sake of an additional discount, it is better to refrain from such a transaction.
In turn, Evgeny Egorov, a leading analyst at the Digital Risk Protection department of F6, urges to be critical of messages from unknown people. Even if a familiar person sent a link, there is no need to rush and open it — the account could be hacked and used to send malicious software.
In addition, it is useful to check the addresses of sites found in search engines or received in messages. To do this, you can use specialized whois services. A recent domain registration date may indicate that it was registered by intruders. For online purchases, you should create a virtual card and store the amount on it only for these purposes.
— Always check the details for money transfers and payments before paying online. Never give outsiders codes from SMS, push notifications, bank card data (PIN codes and CVV codes) and any other personal information, - concludes the interlocutor of Izvestia.
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