Thousands of people are affected by fraud and scams each year, but this doesn’t have to include you! When fraudulent activity increases during the holiday season, arm yourself with the awareness of scam tactics commonly being used by fraudsters. By learning about the following scams and how to avoid them, you’re keeping your funds and your festivities secure for the holidays.
Package Delivery Scams
During the holiday season you can often find packages littering front porches and decks, proof of a night well spent online shopping for your loved ones. While outright theft is always something to worry about with these orders, fraudsters will also try to trick online customers with text and email notifications about their packages. These are called phishing messages, and operate by having you click a link or call a number to get shipping information, an updated delivery date, changes to the delivery address, or they may try to get you to pay a shipping fee. These links and phone numbers are not genuine, and may track your personal information.
To avoid falling for these types of fraud, always be aware of the messages you receive in your inbox. Is the company one you’re familiar with? Is everything spelled correctly? Is this a contact you’ve had secure transactions with in the past? If you can’t guarantee those things about a message you’ve received, it might be a phishing scam. To ensure that you aren’t getting scammed, visit the official website where you ordered the package you’re worried about. Use the order confirmation number you should have received to track the package, and try to avoid clicking any secondary links or calling phone numbers you don’t recognize.
Gift Card Scams
Just like phishing emails, gift card scams are a common type of fraud that intensifies during the holiday season. A business that is legit and can be trusted will not call you asking you to pay with gift cards, or any type of prepaid card rather than a debit or a credit card. This is a common tactic used by fraudsters since gift cards are non-refundable and not easily tracked once spent. If you have any worries about spending money on holiday shopping, using a credit card is a safer avenue to use rather than gift cards. Using a credit card allows you to dispute a fraudulent charge rather than taking it on the chin like a gift card, and all purchases can be tracked with the help of your lender/financial institution. Because of just how rampant the abuse of gift cards is by fraudsters during the holiday seasons, it’s important to stay wary of websites and vendors insisting that you use them.
Holiday Shopping
It’s easy to get carried away with shopping for the holidays, especially when you do it online. When making purchases on the internet, it’s important to make sure that it’s done on a secure site. You can do this by avoiding links included in promotional emails and texts that are potential phishing scams. If you’re on social media and you see an ad by a business you trust, this isn’t always a safe avenue for holiday shopping, either. Some fraudsters make fake social media accounts to lead potential customers to believe they’re buying from the real business. Make sure to research a business or vendor before you buy from them, never type out personal information while using public Wifi, and always check for customer reviews (this leans towards legitimacy). And always plan on budgeting for the shopping you plan to do so you don’t risk spending money you don’t have.
Fake Ads
Social media ads that seem too good to be true, are not consistent, or look completely AI generated, are usually not to be trusted. These types of fraud work similarly to a phishing scam – with the intent to trick people into clicking a false link and providing their personal information. If there is an abundance of AI usage on a webpage or social media ad and not many interactions from users with real accounts (bots), it’s safe to say that they might be fraud. This is not a vendor you should give your personal information to.
Safety Steps
There are many steps to take during the holidays to avoid fraud and keep your funds secure. Research a vendor before you spend your money with them, and keep purchases to trusted sites and businesses before you hit “buy”. Be wary of using gift cards during your shopping since they can’t be tracked or refunded. Keep up with your bank statements to see if there are any charges that you don’t recognize – this helps you catch potential fraud early on, that way you can get your money back if you have been wrongly charged. But most importantly, remember to budget for all your planned shopping.
With these tactics, you can enjoy a secure and festive holiday season!
