A study by Revolut and Dynata, which involved the participation of a thousand Portuguese people, reveals that many arrive at Black Friday more excited than confident — and this translates into important financial losses.
Only 13% of respondents say they are “very confident” in their ability to identify fraudulent websites or offers.
The lack of confidence is greater in older age groups: 27% of those aged 45–54 and 39% of those aged 55–64 do not feel confident. Among Generation Z, only 25% say they are very confident.
Trust does not prevent losses: 21% of Generation Z admits having lost between 500 and a thousand euros due to online shopping scams. In Generation X, 41% do not feel confident and 22% of this group say they have lost more than a thousand euros in fraud. These values point to a direct impact on purchasing power and consumer confidence during the promotion season.
Woody Malouf, Head of Financial Crime from Revolut, warns that “the data shows that, although the Portuguese are more aware of scams, trust is still not enough”.
The person responsible for fintech says that “as purchases are increasingly made on social media and online, scammers are becoming more effective at pretending to be trusted brands. The best defense is caution: if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. And the ideal is to always buy from reliable sites with good reviews”, he adds.
In fact, protective behaviors appear to be on the rise and reflect economic concern. For example, 57% of respondents prefer to buy from trusted websites or applications, 40% use virtual or single-use cards and 38% avoid clicking links of e-mails or advertisements. Still, 12% do not take precautions — a percentage that rises to 16% in Generation Z — increasing the risk of losses.
As for promotion research channels, 36% use retailers’ websites, 16% trust paid ads on social media and 15% trust online promotions. e-mail. Gen Z uses social media the most (33%), while Gen X (44%) and Boomers (40%) prefer official retailer websites. Influencer content has residual weight (6%).