Ready or not, the holidays are upon us. That means you’re probably trying to complete your Christmas gift list. If you’re ordering gifts online, you don’t want to leave a trail that will ruin the surprise. Tap or click here for the best ways to hide what you purchase online.
But spoilers are the least of your worries this year. Thieves are already targeting online holiday shoppers. If you fall for the scams, not only will you not receive the gifts you buy, but you’ll also be out of the money you spent.
Read on for details on the most common scams and ways to avoid falling victim.
Here’s the backstory
When special shopping days approach, scammers are out in full force with fake advertisements and scam messages. These usually involve highly-sought after products at incredibly low prices.
Several variations exist of these scams, but according to the FBI, the most prominent one is where the seller never ships your order. For example, the price of a luxury handbag might be too good to ignore, and you decide to buy it. But you’ll receive no communication or delivery once you pay for the goods.
The Internet Crime Complaint Center’s (IC3) report shows that non-payment or non-delivery scams cost people more than $337 million last year. Credit card fraud accounted for another $173 million in…
