Scam artists are making a list and checking it twice. They really don’t care who’s naughty or nice.
That’s because scammers are out to dupe everyone.
“Scammers love the holidays,” said Greg Burge, Ph.D., University of Oklahoma economics professor and department chair. “It’s the holiday season and people are wanting to be generous and give to others.”
That generosity, along with hectic party-planning and gift-buying, leaves people especially vulnerable to scams this time of year.
“They often miss cues that would indicate they are falling victim to a scam,” said Norman Police Department detective Dustin Underhill.
The FBI reports 4,156 Oklahomans missed the clues last year and lost more than $50 million to scammers.
Though scams are a seasonless source of joy, about three-quarters of consumers experience fraud tied to the holidays, according to AARP. A stunning 78 percent of Oklahomans have been targeted or experienced fraud.
Charity-related frauds are among the biggest cons. Other biggies range from misleading communications about shipping problems to package theft. Add to those the always popular imposter scams and online shopping scams.
Here are three lumps of coal that scammers likely will try to hand out this holiday season.
Imposter scams
In imposter scams, crooks pose as someone…
