November 26, 2025 • 7 mins
Cyber Security Expert Theresa Payton shares a few tips to avoid Black Friday shopping scams online.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is Good Morning BET News Talk eleven ten nine
to nine three do WBT the day before Turkey Day.
It is Wednesday, November twenty sixth. Time to welcome in
our longtime cybersecurity expert, the founder of Fordless Solutions. She
was in studio with us on Monday. And you know what,
(00:22):
a trooper still comes on in a regular Wednesday spot,
and truth be told, if she's not in her Wednesday spot,
then people start wondering what's going on. What's going on
with Beth and Bo. They're not doing their their usual thing,
and so it's like clockwork she's here and we always
appreciate that. So happy to talk to you for the
second time this week.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Absolutely, it's great to be with you. And Happy Thanksgiving Eve.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Happy Thanksgiving Eve to you. Now we've said this many
times with you and talking about the shopping season, we
all know that Black Friday is not just a day anymore.
Black Friday, it's a way of life this time of year.
These stores online and brick and mortars start the sales
earlier and they extend longer. But you this has always
been a focus when we talk to you about people
(01:07):
being vigilant when they go into shopping mode this time
of year, and like we were talking about on Monday,
even though Black Friday is not just one day, the
scam artists do sort of descend upon people right about now,
and they know that you're in that mode, so they
know that you're susceptible to things. So what is on
your radar here in twenty twenty five as we go
into this Black Friday season in the shopping holiday season.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Yeah, so a couple of things. Thanks for bringing that
up though. A couple of things. One, you don't have
to go it alone. So if you kind of want
a little shopping helper, say to you, that's a red flag.
That's a problem. There's actually some free websites that people
can use. One of my personal favorites that I use
for almost everything is trust Pilot. They'll tell you about
(01:53):
fake and unreliable merchants. Scam Advisor is great. They have
trust scores. They tell you a little bit about Hey,
this domain name is only a couple days old. That's
usually a red flag. Could be a new business, but
more than likely it's probably not not legit. There's also
you rl void that will also scan the website against
(02:15):
different security databases, so that can be a great place
to start. The other thing is remember if it sounds
too good to be true, it probably is really Pay
attention to strange or misspelled URLs. And if the merchant
says things like, oh we take zell or Vemo only,
red flag cash apps only, red flag wire transfers only,
(02:40):
or gift cards only, red flag whenever possible, please and bo,
this is for you. Please use your credit card.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Why would you say that, I'm so glad.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
Do you remember that always use your credit card, not
your debit card, especially online. Now, speaking of information that
is online, the FBI on their x account, just as
a reminder that scammers are out there, they released a
PSA on cyber criminals using phishing schemes to take over
people's bank accounts.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Yeah, so they are impersonating customer support and tech support
at the banks, at the credit unions, and they're tricking
really smart people into providing their log in credentials or
that little code that they send you. They're creating phishing
websites that look like your favorite bank, your favorite credit union,
(03:33):
even payroll providers. So take a look at the FBI's
PSA on this. Again from a red flag perspective. Here's
something I want everybody to know. Your bank. I know
this because I work in banking. Your bank will never
email you or text you tell you to click on
a link and log in from that link. That is
(03:56):
a red flag. Also, their department will not call you
and say, hey, I'm gonna send you a code. Can
you tell it to me over the phone? That is
another red flag. Hang up, Go to a brick and
mortar branch. If you don't have one available to you,
go to the legitimate web page on your own by
typing it in yourself, and look for the customer support number.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
You know, it's become so sophisticated now the way they
track you, because I think many of us can identify
with this. You're scrolling through social media and you see something, Oh,
that's that's like for example, the other day there was
like this, uh, this magnet that you can buy that
has an MP three chip implanted in it, so you
(04:38):
can you can you can download a picture of you
and your significant other, your friend and upload it into
this app and then it'll make a magnet for you,
and you can choose your favorite song and then you
can stick it on your fridge and play the little
play the music, and it sounds like a bit involved,
but really a click on a picture, a click on
a song. But what I noticed is because one I
(05:00):
clicked on it, now like every time I scroll say
it's offering me, Hey, hey remember this? Remember this?
Speaker 3 (05:04):
You like this?
Speaker 1 (05:04):
Do you want this? But what I noticed is the
title of the company changes almost every time. Oh, and
I'm thinking that's not good.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Yeah, that's a red flag. So I would tell people
if they're looking at that magnet with the music, it
might get old quick, I don't know, but if you're
really thinking you want it, I would go to those
websites that I mentioned, you know, Trust Pilot, scam Advisor,
url Void, and run those company names and those domain
names through that website. If all else fails, if you're
(05:38):
not sure, a lot of times, what I'll do is
I'll take the product name, the website, the company name,
I'll type it into my favorite search engine and then
I'll put comma, is this a scam? And a lot
of times the search results that come back will tell
you everything you need to know.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
You know, listeners may wonder you're the expert on all
of this stuff, and we always ask you to do
and what not to do? Are you much of an
online shopper, Teresa.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Oh, that is a great question. Yes, But I go
to the shopping sites themselves. So I actually sit down
and do an old school list, so I, you know,
kind of interview, interrogate, I don't know, investigate my family's
wants to need, and I do an old school list
that I handwrite, and then I sit down and I
(06:26):
do my research looking for prices, and I do a
combination of ordering things online and going in person and
picking it up. There's just you cannot replace going in person,
saying hello to somebody at the cash register, and just
you know, all the seals and the smells and the
seeing people. There's just something about it that's really special
(06:47):
to me.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Well, and you know, on the flip side, we all
know that online shopping has made it possible to get
things you wouldn't necessarily be able to get because it'd
be halfway across the country and you can't travel everywhere.
But as long, what I was trying to get at
is you do it just like anybody else does, but
you make sure you do it in a safe fashion.
And that's those safe tools are things that you've told
us year after years, so we will launch into the
(07:12):
shopping season with vigilance and you can always follow Teresa
on X and get more tips and ask questions at
Tracker Payton. We hope you and your family have a
great holiday, or at least the first of many holidays.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Yeah. Absolutely, I mean best b Steve, Bernie, everybody at WVT.
I love you, I'm praying for you. I want you
to have a happy Thanksgiving. I plan to have a great,
happy Thanksgiving with my family and everybody. Be safe out there.
This is Good Morning BET News Talk eleven ten nine
to nine three do WBT the day before Turkey Day.
It is Wednesday, November twenty sixth. Time to welcome in
our longtime cybersecurity expert, the founder of Fordless Solutions. She
was in studio with us on Monday. And you know what,
(00:22):
a trooper still comes on in a regular Wednesday spot,
and truth be told, if she's not in her Wednesday spot,
then people start wondering what's going on. What's going on
with Beth and Bo. They're not doing their their usual thing,
and so it's like clockwork she's here and we always
appreciate that. So happy to talk to you for the
second time this week.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Absolutely, it's great to be with you. And Happy Thanksgiving Eve.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Happy Thanksgiving Eve to you. Now we've said this many
times with you and talking about the shopping season, we
all know that Black Friday is not just a day anymore.
Black Friday, it's a way of life this time of year.
These stores online and brick and mortars start the sales
earlier and they extend longer. But you this has always
been a focus when we talk to you about people
(01:07):
being vigilant when they go into shopping mode this time
of year, and like we were talking about on Monday,
even though Black Friday is not just one day, the
scam artists do sort of descend upon people right about now,
and they know that you're in that mode, so they
know that you're susceptible to things. So what is on
your radar here in twenty twenty five as we go
into this Black Friday season in the shopping holiday season.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Yeah, so a couple of things. Thanks for bringing that
up though. A couple of things. One, you don't have
to go it alone. So if you kind of want
a little shopping helper, say to you, that's a red flag.
That's a problem. There's actually some free websites that people
can use. One of my personal favorites that I use
for almost everything is trust Pilot. They'll tell you about
(01:53):
fake and unreliable merchants. Scam Advisor is great. They have
trust scores. They tell you a little bit about Hey,
this domain name is only a couple days old. That's
usually a red flag. Could be a new business, but
more than likely it's probably not not legit. There's also
you rl void that will also scan the website against
(02:15):
different security databases, so that can be a great place
to start. The other thing is remember if it sounds
too good to be true, it probably is really Pay
attention to strange or misspelled URLs. And if the merchant
says things like, oh we take zell or Vemo only,
red flag cash apps only, red flag wire transfers only,
(02:40):
or gift cards only, red flag whenever possible, please and bo,
this is for you. Please use your credit card.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Why would you say that, I'm so glad.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
Do you remember that always use your credit card, not
your debit card, especially online. Now, speaking of information that
is online, the FBI on their x account, just as
a reminder that scammers are out there, they released a
PSA on cyber criminals using phishing schemes to take over
people's bank accounts.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Yeah, so they are impersonating customer support and tech support
at the banks, at the credit unions, and they're tricking
really smart people into providing their log in credentials or
that little code that they send you. They're creating phishing
websites that look like your favorite bank, your favorite credit union,
(03:33):
even payroll providers. So take a look at the FBI's
PSA on this. Again from a red flag perspective. Here's
something I want everybody to know. Your bank. I know
this because I work in banking. Your bank will never
email you or text you tell you to click on
a link and log in from that link. That is
(03:56):
a red flag. Also, their department will not call you
and say, hey, I'm gonna send you a code. Can
you tell it to me over the phone? That is
another red flag. Hang up, Go to a brick and
mortar branch. If you don't have one available to you,
go to the legitimate web page on your own by
typing it in yourself, and look for the customer support number.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
You know, it's become so sophisticated now the way they
track you, because I think many of us can identify
with this. You're scrolling through social media and you see something, Oh,
that's that's like for example, the other day there was
like this, uh, this magnet that you can buy that
has an MP three chip implanted in it, so you
(04:38):
can you can you can download a picture of you
and your significant other, your friend and upload it into
this app and then it'll make a magnet for you,
and you can choose your favorite song and then you
can stick it on your fridge and play the little
play the music, and it sounds like a bit involved,
but really a click on a picture, a click on
a song. But what I noticed is because one I
(05:00):
clicked on it, now like every time I scroll say
it's offering me, Hey, hey remember this? Remember this?
Speaker 3 (05:04):
You like this?
Speaker 1 (05:04):
Do you want this? But what I noticed is the
title of the company changes almost every time. Oh, and
I'm thinking that's not good.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Yeah, that's a red flag. So I would tell people
if they're looking at that magnet with the music, it
might get old quick, I don't know, but if you're
really thinking you want it, I would go to those
websites that I mentioned, you know, Trust Pilot, scam Advisor,
url Void, and run those company names and those domain
names through that website. If all else fails, if you're
(05:38):
not sure, a lot of times, what I'll do is
I'll take the product name, the website, the company name,
I'll type it into my favorite search engine and then
I'll put comma, is this a scam? And a lot
of times the search results that come back will tell
you everything you need to know.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
You know, listeners may wonder you're the expert on all
of this stuff, and we always ask you to do
and what not to do? Are you much of an
online shopper, Teresa.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Oh, that is a great question. Yes, But I go
to the shopping sites themselves. So I actually sit down
and do an old school list, so I, you know,
kind of interview, interrogate, I don't know, investigate my family's
wants to need, and I do an old school list
that I handwrite, and then I sit down and I
(06:26):
do my research looking for prices, and I do a
combination of ordering things online and going in person and
picking it up. There's just you cannot replace going in person,
saying hello to somebody at the cash register, and just
you know, all the seals and the smells and the
seeing people. There's just something about it that's really special
(06:47):
to me.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Well, and you know, on the flip side, we all
know that online shopping has made it possible to get
things you wouldn't necessarily be able to get because it'd
be halfway across the country and you can't travel everywhere.
But as long, what I was trying to get at
is you do it just like anybody else does, but
you make sure you do it in a safe fashion.
And that's those safe tools are things that you've told
us year after years, so we will launch into the
(07:12):
shopping season with vigilance and you can always follow Teresa
on X and get more tips and ask questions at
Tracker Payton. We hope you and your family have a
great holiday, or at least the first of many holidays.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Yeah. Absolutely, I mean best b Steve, Bernie, everybody at WVT.
I love you, I'm praying for you. I want you
to have a happy Thanksgiving. I plan to have a great,
happy Thanksgiving with my family and everybody. Be safe out there.
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