The holiday season is prime time for shopping, shipping, gift card, social media, identity theft and you-name-it kind of scams.
The most common right now are non-delivery fraud, in which buyers never get the goods or services they purchase online, and non-payment scams, in which the seller is never paid for items shipped, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
The center’s 2021 report showed that more than $337 million was lost to those types of scams. Credit card fraud caused an additional $173 million in losses.
“Every year, thousands of people become victims of holiday scams,” an FBI report says. “Scammers can rob you of hard-earned money, personal information and, at the very least, a festive mood.”
Here is a gift bag of ideas on how to stay safe – and festive – this time of year:
Buying and selling scams
First and foremost, know with whom you’re doing business by verifying the legitimacy of the buyer or seller. If you’re using an online or auction website, for example, check its satisfaction rankings.
“Be wary of buyers and sellers with mostly unfavorable feedback ratings or no ratings at all,” the FBI says.
Before you make any purchase, be sure the website is legitimate and secure. Look at the URL to verify that it has an “https” in the address.
As for payment, do not purchase anything with prepaid gift cards and do not wire money directly to the seller. Use a credit card when shopping online, and follow up…
