The Black Friday rush is underway throughout Central Florida

ORLANDO, Fla. (FOX 35 WOFL) - The Black Friday rush is underway and shoppers are filling Central Florida stores for those can't miss deals. 

The outlet malls are a popular Black Friday hot spot. Fox 35 reporter Matt Trezza visited the Orlando Premium Outlet on Friday morning. Upon arriving at 3 a.m., he says that he already saw people there and ready to shop. More shoppers keep coming as the day progresses. Many of them said that they planned to spend hundreds of dollars. 

Fox 35 reporter Dana Jay also checked out another mall in Orlando: the Florida Mall. She said while crowds were there on Friday morning, it was still a manageable size. According to BlackFriday.com, this seems to be a trend. Most people are not lining up to shop on Friday morning. Instead, they wait until later in the day to shop. Lots of people also shop online now. 

Department stores are also a popular Black Friday hot spot. Fox 35 reporter Andrea Jackson visited Kohls on Friday morning to talk to shoppers. Kohl's opened up at 5 a.m. on Friday and will close at midnight. 

The International Council of Shopping Centers says people spent $720 billion last Black Friday, and could outpace that this year by close to $30 billion.

After this weekend, the deals will continue on the internet as Cyber Monday is just around the corner. However, some Black Friday sales can already be found online. 

Attorney General Pam Bondi has released a 'Consumer Protection Guide' for holiday shoppers. She recommends that you use a credit card for online purchase, rather than a debit, because credit card purchases let you dispute charges if there is an issue. Also, credit cards offer one-time numbers to be used for online transactions. Just contact your card provider for more information.

Bondi also recommends that you make sure your browser has a secure connection before buying. You can usually tell if a padlocks in the address bar.