MADISON (WKOW) — With inflation soaring right now, every penny consumers earn is valuable, so losing any amount of it to an avoidable scam can be devastating.
Online purchase scams are on the rise in the United States. BBB spokesperson Tiffany Schultz told 27 News that this year, online purchase scams have been the company’s most reported scam. Consumers lost an average of $114.
Since 2015, reports of these scams to the BBB were up 87%.
“Scammers have found opportunity,” Schultz said. “They know that people shop online for items that they need and everything in between.”
Shultz said 25% of their reports came from people who were scammed on social media. Consumers will be shown an ad for an item that they might be looking for and the link takes them to a fake website.
The way to spot the fake: look for the lock symbol and ‘https’ in the URL. That ‘s’ means that it’s secure and legit. Also, look for grammatical errors.
“A professional website is always going to be free and clear,” said Schultz. “Look for contact information: Does it include a full address, a phone number, a privacy policy? Google that address, where does it go? Does it go to an empty field or a UPS store? Or does it go to a place of business?”
When in doubt, call the number they provide and try to speak with a real person.
