Beware of These Scams During the Holiday Season

The U.S non-profit ScamAwareness.org, warns that during the holidays there is an uptick in identity theft, scams or fraud targeted at shoppers.

According to SCU.org, this year, approximately 60% of holiday shoppers will do their shopping online.

These online shoppers are prime targets for scammers to:

• offer merchandise, gift cards and even selling pets at a extreme discount.

• Some criminals even create fake websites that display bargain buys

Unfortunately, holiday shopping is not the only way scammers target us as they also take advantage of our goodwill during the holidays.

Many scammers devise fake charities to try to take advantage of our holiday goodwill:

• these scammers target consumers via phone, email and social media (SCU, 2021).

How to Avoid Falling Victim to Holiday Scams

1. Before clicking on links, make sure there are no missing or extra letters of a retailer’s name. (example: ikea.com > ikeas.com)

2. Also if the web address has words in it like “discounts”, “sales”, or “deals” it might be another sign of a fake site

3. Definitely avoid offers that require payment by wire transfer or prepaid debit cards

4. Before donating to charities, verify that the charity and its web address are legitimate at Charity Navigator or through a state charity agency that can verify it for you.

5. Avoid sending donations through wire transfer or cash and instead can be sent via check of credit card