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Be careful with sites having 'Black Friday' in their domain name
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- Check Point reports surge in Black Friday-themed domains, with nearly 10% flagged as malicious
- October 2025 alone saw 1,519 new domains impersonating major ecommerce brands, with 1 in 25 deemed harmful
- Researchers warn GenAI tools may accelerate creation of localized phishing sites, increasing risk this shopping season
During October 2025 and the first few weeks of November, there has been a spike in new domain registrations themed around Black Friday - however experts have warned many of these domains are malicious, abusing the discount-hunting frenzy to steal people’s data, passwords, and possibly even money.
A new report from cybersecurity researchers Check Point claims October 2025 saw 158 new Black Friday-related domains, up 93% over the 2025 monthly average, and early November 2025 has been even more intense, with 330 new domains emerging just in the first 10 days of the month.
Of those domains, almost a tenth (one in eleven) was classified as malicious.
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The dangers of GenAI
Besides domains who have the words “Black Friday” in their name, there are also many new domains impersonating major ecommerce brands that also popped up in recent weeks. These too, Check Point argues, are built solely to take advantage of Black Friday.
In October, there were 1,519 new domains referencing sites such as Amazon, AliExpress, or Alibaba, which is a 24% increase compared to September 2025, and a 12% increase compared to the same period last year. Of these websites, 1 in 25 was deemed malicious.
Generally speaking, Check Point argues that the volume has been more or less consistent, in relation to previous years.
However, the researchers have also warned about Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools speeding up the process of new website generation, hinting that the threat of malicious landing pages - especially localized ones - is significantly bigger this year.
Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletterContact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.“Creating and localizing this type of operation is significantly faster and easier with modern generative AI tools,” Check Point said.
“While there is no clear evidence that AI was used in these specific cases, attackers are increasingly adopting such tools, which will make future campaigns broader, more targeted, and more difficult to detect.”
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TOPICS Black Friday Sead FadilpašićSocial Links NavigationSead is a seasoned freelance journalist based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He writes about IT (cloud, IoT, 5G, VPN) and cybersecurity (ransomware, data breaches, laws and regulations). In his career, spanning more than a decade, he’s written for numerous media outlets, including Al Jazeera Balkans. He’s also held several modules on content writing for Represent Communications.
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