business Shopping for the Holiday Season? Watch out for these Scams November 16, 2022 Nowadays, most of us do at least some of our holiday shopping online. With this convenience comes a host of cyber risks. Here’s what you need to know about holiday shopping scams. This blog has been updated as of November 2022 for accuracy and comprehensiveness. The FBI is warning consumers to be mindful of certain holiday shopping scams. The two most common are “non-delivery” and “non-payment” crimes. We have some tips on how to keep yourself safe this holiday shopping season. What scams are prevalent around the holidays? The FBI reports that buyers and sellers should be mindful of non-payment and non-delivery scams during the holiday season. A report from the Internet Crime Complaint Center reveals that these scams cost people more than $337 million in 2021. What are non-delivery scams? Non-delivery scams involve a buyer paying for goods or services online, but never receiving those items. What are non-payment scams? In a non-payment scam, goods/services are shipped, but the seller is never paid. How to avoid holiday scams Buyers and sellers, here’s how you can protect yourself this holiday season: Never click on suspicious links or attachments in emails, websites or social media.Don’t enter your information on a site without an “https” in the web address. Do your research before buying anything from a company for the first time. Check reviews and review their feedback rating.Avoid companies that request payment through pre-paid gift cards and never wire money directly to a seller. Check your credit card statement regularly to watch out for suspicious transactions. Your credit card company can help you dispute a charge.Get tracking numbers for things you buy online so you can monitor the delivery and payment process. Happy Shopping! Wondering if something is too good to be true? We can help. Contact us.
