AI Cybercriminals Target Black Friday and Cyber Monday
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<p><span data-contrast="auto">The holiday shopping season no longer starts with doorbusters or glittering storefronts. It now begins with a surge of AI-assisted malicious activity that accelerates faster than any retail promotion. In the weeks leading up to <a href="https://securityboulevard.com/2025/11/would-your-business-survive-a-black-friday-cyberattack/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">up to Black Friday</a> and Cyber Monday, phishing campaigns rise by nearly seven hundred percent and compromised credentials increase by more than 160%. These are not random spikes. They signal the activation of a parallel criminal economy that treats the holiday calendar as a strategic window of profitability. This underground market has evolved into a structured commercial sector powered by automation, synthetic identities and generative AI that can craft convincing lures, clone trusted communication patterns and scale credential attacks with machine precision. It is no longer a loose collection of opportunists. It is an AI-enabled industry built on intrusion and data theft, and it grows louder every time the retail world gets busy.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p><h3><b><span data-contrast="auto">AI Turns Holiday Scams Into Precision Operations</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></h3><p><span data-contrast="auto">This ecosystem mirrors legitimate retail behaviour. Generative models craft credible phishing messages in seconds. Fake storefronts appear with layouts identical to trusted brands, blending perfectly into the seasonal shopping landscape. Messages reference shipping delays, abandoned carts and limited stock, all tuned to match consumer expectations. Automated bot networks run credential stuffing campaigns that resemble natural user traffic, shifting devices and altering behaviour to avoid detection. Holiday traffic becomes camouflage and AI becomes the driving engine of scale.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p><h3><b><span data-contrast="auto">Phishing Evolves into Full-Service Deception Engines</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></h3><p><span data-contrast="auto">The phishing problem has transformed completely. Errors that once exposed scams are gone. Now, emails and messages are fluent, localized and structured to match brand language. AI assistance has made this possible. Attackers deploy humanlike support bots and voice-cloned callers who speak with the familiarity of legitimate customer service teams. Fake tracking portals and delivery updates steal passwords and payment information with interfaces that appear indistinguishable from reputable providers.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p><h3><b><span data-contrast="auto">Accounts Become the New Entry Points for Holiday Fraud</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></h3><p><span data-contrast="auto">Account compromise has matured into a deeply adaptive threat. Attackers rely on massive credential dumps and automated systems that behave like genuine shoppers. They rotate browser signatures, switch IP addresses and time login attempts to coincide with peak shopping patterns. Once inside an account, they act quickly. They change delivery addresses, drain loyalty balances, initiate unauthorized purchases or exploit refund systems built for seamless customer experiences. A simple login event becomes the gateway to more complex forms of fraud.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p><h3><b><span data-contrast="auto">When Code Replaces Cash Registers: Payment Skimming’s Rise</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></h3><p><span data-contrast="auto">Payment skimming remains one of the most profitable seasonal threats. Retail platforms rely on numerous third-party scripts for personalization, analytics and checkout. Criminal groups target these dependencies to inject silent skimming code. One compromised script can capture thousands of card numbers during the busiest shopping days of the year.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p><p><a href="https://securityboulevard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-26-08.34.20.png"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-2077315 size-full" src="https://securityboulevard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-26-08.34.20.png" alt="" width="526" height="312" srcset="https://securityboulevard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-26-08.34.20.png 526w, https://securityboulevard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-26-08.34.20-300x178.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 526px) 100vw, 526px"></a><br><span data-contrast="auto">Image 1: Distribution of major holiday season cyber threats.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p><h3><b><span data-contrast="auto">Luxury Labels Face a Higher Class of Cybercrime</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></h3><p><span data-contrast="auto">Luxury brands face heightened risk due to the value and sensitivity of their customer data. Wealth profiles, purchasing behaviours and high limit payment tendencies create a lucrative target set. Recent attacks against major luxury houses often start with the compromise of external marketing platforms or CRM systems. Criminals use these footholds to exfiltrate entire customer databases, later weaponizing the information in targeted identity theft and bespoke social engineering campaigns. The damage impacts brand exclusivity, reputation and long-term customer trust.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p><h3><b><span data-contrast="auto">Ransomware Timing and Attack Chains Converge Into a Single High-Impact Playbook</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></h3><p><span data-contrast="auto">Ransomware actors time their operations to the holiday shopping calendar, striking when disruption hurts the most and retailers are least able to absorb downtime. Groups such as Clop, BianLian, Qilin, DragonForce, BlackCat, FunkSec and RansomHub typically begin with a quiet infostealer foothold, move laterally, catalogue valuable data and delay encryption until they have gathered enough leverage to force a response. Their activity, however, is only one part of a broader chain of behaviours. Modern attackers do not operate through isolated incidents but through sequenced actions that fold into one another. A stolen cookie or password becomes the opening point of access. That access enables order manipulation or refund abuse. These manipulations grow into unauthorized gift card purchases, payment fraud and eventually identity theft. To most victims the visible symptom is the only part they notice, yet the true intrusion is a multi-step progression that criminals refine and repeat across retail environments every holiday season.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p><p><a href="https://securityboulevard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-26-08.34.33.png"><img decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-2077316 aligncenter" src="https://securityboulevard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-26-08.34.33.png" alt="" width="649" height="340" srcset="https://securityboulevard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-26-08.34.33.png 649w, https://securityboulevard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-26-08.34.33-300x157.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 649px) 100vw, 649px"></a><br><span data-contrast="auto">Image 2: Threat activity continues to rise year over year across retail and luxury.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p><h3><b><span data-contrast="auto">How Fraudsters Lure Shoppers With Black Friday Mirage Deals</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></h3><p><span data-contrast="auto">Consumer-facing scams reflect the same sophistication. Unrealistic discounts circulate from accounts created days earlier. Fake sites lack privacy notices or proper contact information. Instead of standard checkout options, they request bank transfers or cryptocurrency, which are preferred by organized groups. Impersonated URLs mislead shoppers with minor character changes. Urgency completes the deception with timers and warnings of low stock. Agencies like the United Kingdom’s NCSC encourage forwarding suspicious emails to reporting services and recommend using credit cards for added consumer protection.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p><h3><b><span data-contrast="auto">Security in Retail Can No Longer Be a Periodic Checklist</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></h3><p><span data-contrast="auto">Defensive posture must operate in real time. Vendor oversight, restricted access and continuous monitoring of external scripts are foundational requirements. Authentication systems must evaluate behavioural signals. High-risk transactions require additional verification. Retailers must monitor for lookalike domains and cloned storefronts and coordinate rapid takedowns. Incident response teams should rehearse scenarios involving credential abuse, checkout manipulation and rapid data theft to reduce reaction time.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p><h3><b><span data-contrast="auto">Retailers That Keep Pace Will Survive This Season’s AI Crimewave</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></h3><p><span data-contrast="auto">The pattern across recent incidents is clear. Criminal groups scale their operations with the precision of large enterprises and AI amplifies their reach. Organizations that adopt real-time monitoring, adaptive analytics and fast response workflows will maintain resilience through the holiday shopping season. Cybersecurity partners that provide continuous threat detection and incident readiness can help businesses match the tempo of AI-driven adversaries.</span></p><p><span data-contrast="auto">The holiday rush will always reward speed and attackers know it well. AI now gives them the advantage to move faster than most retailers expect. The organizations that stay ahead are the ones that monitor constantly, validate trust at every step and respond before small anomalies turn into real incidents. </span></p><p><b></b></p><div class="spu-placeholder" style="display:none"></div><div class="addtoany_share_save_container addtoany_content addtoany_content_bottom"><div class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_20 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="https://securityboulevard.com/2025/11/ai-cybercriminals-target-black-friday-and-cyber-monday/" data-a2a-title="AI Cybercriminals Target Black Friday and Cyber Monday"><a class="a2a_button_twitter" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/twitter?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsecurityboulevard.com%2F2025%2F11%2Fai-cybercriminals-target-black-friday-and-cyber-monday%2F&linkname=AI%20Cybercriminals%20Target%20Black%20Friday%20and%20Cyber%20Monday" title="Twitter" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_linkedin" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/linkedin?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsecurityboulevard.com%2F2025%2F11%2Fai-cybercriminals-target-black-friday-and-cyber-monday%2F&linkname=AI%20Cybercriminals%20Target%20Black%20Friday%20and%20Cyber%20Monday" title="LinkedIn" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsecurityboulevard.com%2F2025%2F11%2Fai-cybercriminals-target-black-friday-and-cyber-monday%2F&linkname=AI%20Cybercriminals%20Target%20Black%20Friday%20and%20Cyber%20Monday" title="Facebook" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_reddit" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/reddit?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsecurityboulevard.com%2F2025%2F11%2Fai-cybercriminals-target-black-friday-and-cyber-monday%2F&linkname=AI%20Cybercriminals%20Target%20Black%20Friday%20and%20Cyber%20Monday" title="Reddit" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_email" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsecurityboulevard.com%2F2025%2F11%2Fai-cybercriminals-target-black-friday-and-cyber-monday%2F&linkname=AI%20Cybercriminals%20Target%20Black%20Friday%20and%20Cyber%20Monday" title="Email" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share"></a></div></div>