‘Tis the Season for Online Scamming

As we prepare for the end of 2024, more people prefer to shop online for the holiday season. That is why the FBI is warning you to be on the lookout for online scammers hoping to drain your holiday spirit along with your bank accounts.

Two shopping seasons ago, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received reports from almost 12,000 victims with a loss of over $73 million.

Online: The two most prevalent holiday scams were the non-delivery and non-payment types. In a non-delivery scam, a buyer pays for goods or services they order online, but never receive those items.

Conversely, the non-payment scam involves goods or services being shipped, but the seller is never paid. Sometimes packages show up that haven’t even been ordered by the recipient.

Probably the most important thing you can do to avoid becoming a victim of these types of scams, and others, is to make sure you do your homework before you go online to shop. Heed the old saying, “If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.”

Some suggestions offered by the FBI include:

• E-mails advertising hot-ticket or wildly popular items, such as event tickets or gaming systems, that aren’t from a legitimate source.

• Untrusted websites and social media ads promoting unrealistic discounts and bargains for brand-name items.

• Social media posts, often appearing to have been shared by a known friend, offering vouchers, gift cards, freebies, and contests.

• Online surveys designed to steal personal information.

• Do not click on links in an unsolicited email or provide personal or financial information.

• Online retailers who use a free email service instead of a company email address.

• Sellers posting under one name but requesting funds to be sent to another individual, or any seller claiming to be inside the country but requesting funds to be sent to another country.

• Be wary of online transactions that use payment methods such as wire transfers, virtual currency, gift cards, or cash.

• Sellers who request payments through online payment methods that are not protected by the transfer company.

• Buyers signed up for a subscription or renewal service that wasn’t advertised as part of the initial purchase. Read the fine print, know the company’s return/exchange policy, ensure the purchase is clearly defined and understood, and monitor financial statements for any unauthorized charges.

• Verify the websites utilized to purchase and sell items. Web addresses should begin with https:// and include a locked padlock icon.

• Do not judge a company solely by its website, as flashy websites can be set up and taken down quickly. Use other methods to verify credentials.

• Pay for items using a credit card dedicated for online purchases, check the card statement regularly, and never save payment information in online accounts.

• Limit the use of public Wi-Fi, if possible.

• Verify the legitimacy of all parties involved by looking at consumer reviews and social media pages, as well as checking with the Better Business Bureau.

• Make sure anti-virus/malware software is up to date and block pop-up windows.

• Use safe passwords or pass phrases. Never use the same password on multiple accounts.

• As always—if the deal sounds too good to be true, chances are it is a scam.

Other common holiday season scams to watch for include investment scams, smartphone app scams, work-from-home scams and gift card and charity scams.

If you are a victim of a fraud, the FBI recommends taking the following actions:

• Report to the FBI IC3 at www.ic3.gov as quickly as possible.

• Report the activity to the online payment service used for the financial transaction.

• Contact your financial institution immediately to stop or reverse the transaction. Ask your financial institution to contact the corresponding financial institution where the fraudulent or suspicious transfer was sent.