Darktrace Reports 620% Surge in Black Friday Phishing Attempts

Summary

Darktrace says Black Friday-related phishing attempts rose 620% in the weeks before the holiday, with a further 20–30% increase expected during Black Friday week. Campaigns impersonate retailers and use fake deal sites to steal personal and payment data.

Key points

Darktrace analyzed anonymous email data from 6,500 customers between October 1 and November 21, 2025.
Phishing attempts mimicking US retailers were up 201% in the week before Thanksgiving compared with the same week in October.
Amazon accounted for 80% of the global consumer-brand impersonation attempts in Darktrace’s analysis.
Some campaigns used fake marketing domains and Deal Watchdogs promotions to direct victims to counterfeit Amazon pages that collected sensitive and payment information.
Darktrace says generative AI can help produce convincing phishing emails; its 2024 analysis found 27% of observed phishing emails exceeded 1,000 characters.
The article advises shoppers to verify URLs, navigate directly to retailers’ official sites, check payment options, and avoid rushing into deals.

Article Details

Event Type: Black Friday-themed phishing campaign surge involving retailer impersonation and fake marketing domains.
Impact: Phishing attempts exploiting Black Friday increased by 620% in the weeks before the holiday weekend, according to Darktrace; the article estimates a further 20–30% increase during Black Friday week. Victims who follow campaign links may be tricked into submitting sensitive personal and payment information. The scams can also erode consumer trust and damage retailers’ reputations and sales.

Indicators of compromise

Type	Indicator	Context
DOMAIN	`epicbrandmarketing[.]com`	Fake marketing domain used in a Black Friday phishing campaign.
DOMAIN	`pal[.]petplatz[.]com`	Fake marketing domain used in a Black Friday phishing campaign.
DOMAIN	`waimart[.]com`	Example of a look-alike domain scammers may use to impersonate Walmart.

Vendors

DarktraceAnalysis conducted by Darktrace’s global analyst team revealed that phishing attacks taking advantage of Black Friday jumped by 620% in the weeks leading up to the holiday weekend, with the volume of phishing attacks

Products

Darktrace / EMAILDarktrace / EMAIL uses Self-Learning AI to understand the behavior and patterns of every user, so it can detect the subtle inconsistencies that reveal a message isn’t genuine, from shifts in tone and writing style to

Industries

Retailis a complicated area as it falls outside of a brand’s legitimate infrastructure and security remit. Retail brands have a huge attack surface, creating plenty of vectors for impersonation, while fake domains,