The Better Business Bureau has received reports of nearly $380 million in online retail fraud losses in 2022 so far, but ’tis the season when scammers really up their game.
With the post-Thanksgiving traditions of Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday upon us, the BBB and others are encouraging people not to let urgent or emotional appeals make them forget everything they’ve learned about protecting themselves from online forms of stranger danger.
“I’ve been doing this for 35 years, and the scammers are getting better at what they do,” said Steve Bernas, president and CEO of the BBB of Chicago and Northern Illinois. “Everybody should do research and seek information before doing business with someone. If the offer seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
According to the BBB Scam Tracker launched in 2015, criminals tend to target three key moments in the online shopping process: when consumers see ads, especially over social media; when they buy after being enticed by unrealistically low prices or fake websites; and after transactions, when scammers send false tracking information and ask for more money for safe delivery.
There’s little information to create a profile of typical scammers, including how and from where they operate, because they’re rarely caught, Bernas said. That makes prevention the chief protection for consumers.
Unlike in years past, when fraudulent websites were more easily identifiable by…
