Barnes & Noble sets the record straight on '$1 book discount' - USA Today

Hide Caption #videoDetailsToggle{color:var( --color-dove-gray,rgba(0,0,0,.6));cursor:pointer;display:inline-block;font-family:var(--sans-serif,sans-serif);font-size:var(--type-7);font-weight:var( --font-weight-bold,900);line-height:var(--spacer-twentyfour,24px);margin-bottom:-8px}#vdt_hide{margin-bottom:10px}.vdt-flex{display:none}.vdt-svg{fill:var( --color-dove-gray,rgba(0,0,0,.6));height:var(--spacer-twentyfour,24px);width:var(--spacer-twentyfour,24px)} (function() { let vdContainer, vdShow, vdHide, flagCaption = false, vdToggle = document.getElementById('videoDetailsToggle'), section = ga_data.route.sectionName || ga_data.route.ssts.split('/'), subsection = ga_data.route.ssts.split('/'); vdToggle.addEventListener('click', ()=> { // query dom only after user click if (!vdContainer) { vdContainer = document.getElementById('videoDetailsContainer'); vdShow = document.getElementById('vdt_show'), vdHide = document.getElementById('vdt_hide'); } vdContainer.hidden = !(vdContainer.hidden); // show/hide elements if (vdContainer.hidden) { vdShow.hidden = false; vdHide.hidden = true; } else { if (!flagCaption) { flagCaption = true; fireCaptionAnalytics() } vdShow.hidden = true; vdHide.hidden = false; } }); function fireCaptionAnalytics () { let analytics = document.getElementById("pageAnalytics"); try { if (analytics) { analytics.fireEvent(`${ga_data.route.basePageType}|${section}|${subsection}|streamline|expandCaption`); } else { if (window.newrelic) window.newrelic.noticeError('page analytics tag not found'); } } catch (e) { if (window.newrelic) window.newrelic.noticeError(e); } } }()); Guinness names giant pop-up book world's largestThe world's largest pop-up book is now on display at the Los Angeles Central Library, where it was created to celebrate the landmark's 100th anniversary.Seeing those $1 discount books at Barnes & Noble? They're fake. Recently, social media, particularly Instagram and TikTok, have been flooded with posts about books at Barnes & Noble being discounted to only a dollar. The posts direct viewers to links where they can sign up to receive a code to claim the deal, which, according to them, is valid until Aug. 7. Turns out, those posts are fake and likely a scam. "This is a fake online promotion and most likely a phishing scam," Barnes & Noble said in a statement to USA TODAY on July 31. "We encourage customers to go to our website to see current legitimate sales and promotions." Barnes & Noble routinely runs promotions and deals on books and e-books on its website and also sometimes offers discounted books at its brick-and-mortar stores across the country. Recent analysis has found that sophisticated artificial intelligence-driven fraud is increasingly targeting U.S. consumers, who are falling victim to schemes that steal their IDs and credit card information, and even make fraudulent charges. According to the latest Top Fraud Trends Report by TransUnion, 1 in 6 U.S. consumers said they lost money to digital fraud in the form of email, online, phone call or text messaging scams in the last year. Stolen credit card information obtained through phishing, website skimming, and account takeovers is among the leading drivers of U.S. consumer fraud losses. Phishing in the form of fraudulent emails, QR codes meant to steal data, or social media posts was the most reported scam, with 39% of consumers saying they were targeted. "Fraud is big. It's growing, it's everywhere and it's not going away," Clint Lowry, vice president of global fraud solutions at TransUnion, previously told USA TODAY. AI-written books: Barnes & Noble CEO approves of selling them under one condition Generative AI has likely accelerated the scale and sophistication of this criminal activity. "With the advent of AI, you get these incredibly professional fraud schemes that can be done very quickly and easily by anyone with very limited resources," he added. Contributing: Betty Lin-Fisher, USA TODAY Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.