Many families are bracing for sticker shock as back-to-school shopping gets underway. The National Retail Federation says nearly half of families started shopping early over concerns about tariffs driving up prices.

But if you're on the hunt for deals, experts say to make sure you're watching out for scams.

"We're all looking for deals, and what attackers do is they exploit this," former FBI counterintelligence operative and cybersecurity expert Eric O'Neil said.

With the average cost per child for just the basic classroom essentials now up to around $144, it can be tempting to go for the lowest price you can find. But O'Neil warns that scammers have done their homework, which means that deep discount could be a fake.

O'Neil says scammers send out phishing emails advertising big

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