Those Halloween Deals Are A Scam — How To Tell

Halloween is days away, and two fresh warnings say the scammers are ready. On October 23, online safety experts Get Safe Online — working with scam detection specialist Ask Silver — reported a surge in social media ads for so-called hyper-realistic masks and fake fright nights. On October 20, the Better Business Bureau flagged the same season's tricks: fake online stores, fraudulent event tickets, and bait-and-switch deals. Here is how both scams work — and the simple checks that stop them.

What Arrives: A Mask That Isn't

The ads are stunning. Someone pulls on a silicone mask and seems to morph into a celebrity, a monster, or a film character. The price is the hook: as little as £30. Get Safe Online points out that genuine silicone masks of this quality typically cost hundreds of pounds — which makes a £30 offer suspicious on its face.

Researchers believe many of those eye-catching videos have been created or enhanced using AI, making the products appear far more impressive than they really are. What buyers report actually receiving, in reviews left on consumer feedback websites, is a low-quality plastic mask that bears little resemblance to the one advertised — while others never receive their orders at all. The same applies to other parts of scary outfits. The Better Business Bureau describes the close cousin of this trick: bait-and-switch, where a costume advertised with several accessories shows up with pieces missing, or looking nothing like the pictures.

What Arrives: Tickets To A Night That Isn't

The second scam sells the night out instead of the costume. Fraudsters are promoting fake ‘Fright Nights’, haunted attractions, and seasonal events that either do not exist or are vastly different from what has been advertised, says Get Safe Online. Victims pay for tickets online, only to discover the venue has never heard of the event — or that the organiser disappears after taking the payments.

The Better Business Bureau lists fraudulent event tickets among this season's common Halloween scams, and its advice is plain: buy tickets from the event's own website, its box office, or its official social media page — not from a stranger's post or a sponsored ad.

The Red Flags

1. A professional-quality mask at a toy price. Hyper-realistic silicone masks sold for surprisingly low prices are Get Safe Online's first warning sign — the genuine article costs hundreds of pounds.
2. A video that looks too perfect. AI-generated videos and images that seem too good to be true are a named warning sign. The morphing trick in the ad may be the only real special effect.
3. Heavy advertising from a brand you have never heard of. These offers spread through a surge of social media ads from unfamiliar brands, not from established costume shops.
4. A shop that sells everything. Websites selling an unusually wide range of unrelated products, with poorly written descriptions, are typical of pop-up scam stores. The BBB adds that seasonal Halloween stores may be open only a few weeks, which makes returns hard after the holiday.
5. No way to reach a real business. Limited business information, no physical contact details, or no working phone number, email, or address — both warnings call this out.
6. An attraction nobody else has heard of. Halloween attractions and ‘Fright Nights’ with little independent evidence that they exist deserve a hard second look.

What The Real Thing Looks Like

Real makers of movie-quality silicone masks charge hundreds of pounds, and they can be researched, reviewed, and contacted like any real business. Real venues list their events on their own websites and at their own box offices, and they know their own calendars — a quick check on the venue's own site confirms whether an event exists and who is authorised to sell its tickets. Honest seasonal sellers publish a working phone number, email, or address, and can tell you their return policy and how long they will be open.

Already Paid? Do This Next

First, do not blame yourself. Get Safe Online notes that AI tools now let criminals create convincing websites, realistic product images, marketing videos, and persuasive sales copy within minutes — and that many of these scams involve relatively low-value purchases, so victims may be less likely to report them or chase a refund. Act anyway, and act soon.

1. Call your card issuer. If you paid by credit card, dispute the charge — that protection is exactly why both warnings say to pay this way. Do not wait for the holiday to pass: a seasonal seller may vanish in November.
2. Watch your statements and your details. Get Safe Online warns the consequences can extend beyond the lost payment: fraudsters may obtain personal information, account details, or payment card data that can later be used in further scams, or sold to other criminal groups. Keep an eye on your statements and tell your bank if anything looks off.
3. Leave a record for the next shopper. Reviews from multiple sources are what these checks rely on — report the seller and review the business so the next person searching finds your warning.

Sources: Get Safe Online, “Don't let scammers spoil Halloween,” October 23, 2026 (with Ask Silver) — getsafeonline.org. Better Business Bureau, Halloween shopping scam warning, October 20, 2026.