If you're still heading out to shop, or are waiting for cyber Monday, you should watch out, because scammers are on the hunt for a slice of the holiday spending.
The FBI says tens of thousands of people are scammed in some way over the holiday season, be it their hard-earned cash or personal information. Experian reports numbers even more frightening, saying that 1 in 4 Americans report falling victim to some type of fraud during the holidays.
"When you are desperate, you ignore red flags and you might see a website that is offering it for a price that seems too good to be true," Britta Clark, Director of Communications for the Better Business Bureau.
Desperation could be the mood while shopping this year, with supply chain issues still at the forefront, meaning if you don’t get that one gift soon, you may not get it at all. But before you panic buy after seeing a "big sale" tag, it may be worth your time to check what the original price is on your phone.
“Maybe not getting a deal at all but feeling like you are because sometimes stores will mark up prices and make you believe that you are getting a huge discount but it's really not that much less than how it would be normally priced throughout the year."
But if the gift your looking for isn't on the shelves, the next big opportunity for savings is in a couple days, but that brings its own pitfalls.
"Cyber Monday has a lot of risks that we see throughout the year in online shopping, and it's important to know the red flags before you shop online."
This is especially true because we can be easily tricked seeing those 75-80% off deals that really seem too good to be true. But there are a few things you can look out for to make sure you don't fall victim to scammers, like websites with obvious misspellings, grammar mistakes, links that don't work or a refusal to accept credit cards.
“If you are being asked to pay with something like a wire transfer or a gift card, that should be extremely suspicious."
You can also look up reviews for the website, check the better business bureau website, or even call up the support number on the site. If they don't pick up or seem unprofessional on the phone, it might be best to skip. But if you do fall victim, there are things you can and should do.
“Report it and contact your bank, start checking your identity, check your credit and freeze it if you have to. Make sure that you are keeping yourself safe and looking out for those kinds of things."
You can access the resources with the Better Business Bureau by clicking here: https://www.bbb.org/
