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Shopping Fraud Is Coming To Town: Avoid Being Scammed This Holiday Season

By K-Staff

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There are fewer than 50 shopping days until Christmas – and with the holiday shopping season comes scammers and fraudsters trying to stuff their stockings with your hard-earned money and valuable private information.

You don’t need to pout or cry, though: we’ll tell you why with these tips you can use to stay scam-free while shopping for your holiday gifts:

Shop with trusted retailers

Online shopping scams are among the most common holiday shopping scams, and they can be difficult to spot if you’re targeted – the Better Business Bureau’s Online Scams Report found that 82% of those targeted in online shopping scams reported losing money as a result.

Non-delivery scams – where victims pay for items but never receive them – often appear through fake online stores or listings for premium products at significant discounts. If something looks too good to be true, it usually is, so avoid e-commerce sites that you can’t thoroughly verify as a trusted retailer.

Use caution when shopping on social media sites like Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or NextDoor – buying directly from a person and paying with cash, cryptocurrency, gift cards, or wire transfers leaves you vulnerable to being scammed and eliminates purchase protections you would have when shopping with a reputable retailer or when using a credit card.

Look out for gift card fraud

If the vendor you’re using for a purchase only accepts gift cards or other prepaid cards as payment, be very careful – they may be attempting gift card fraud.

Why is gift card fraud problematic? There’s no way to trace the recipient of a gift card or reverse payment after the transaction has been made. Paying for purchases with a traceable form of payment, like a debit or credit card, protects you against non-delivery scams.

Verify website URLs

Scammers create fake websites that look like legitimate retailers – make sure that the website you are on is secure (that the address starts with https://) and that you don’t click on links in unsolicited emails or text messages.

Pay with your phone

Using digital wallet apps like Apple Pay or Google Pay helps to keep your card information secure by keeping your information private – they use unique transaction codes instead of your actual card number, so it’s never shared with merchants or put on servers. You can set up your Kirtland CU credit or debit card in Apple Pay or Google Pay and use it at any POS that supports NFC (contactless) transactions – which is now becoming more and more commonly available.

Safeguard your passwords

To help minimize risk, use unique passwords for each of your accounts – that way, if one password is compromised, it won’t put your other accounts at risk.

If creating different passwords for each account is too much work, a password manager can help – then you just need to remember the master password and the manager will do the rest.

Additionally, it’s a good idea to turn on multifactor authentication for any account that supports it, especially for accounts that have payment or financial information associated with them. It adds another step to logging in, but it’s a step that can prevent your accounts from being accessed by unwanted persons. (It’s important to note: never share your passcodes generated through multifactor authentication with anyone who asks – and if anyone does ask, that’s a red flag that they are a scammer trying to access your account.)

Avoid using public wi-fi

Open public wi-fi networks are convenient for quick browsing when out and about, but they can be compromised by criminals and used to access your personal information if you make a purchase.

Avoid shopping, logging in to your bank account, or doing anything that involves your sensitive personal or payment information while connected to an unsecured network. If you must use public wi-fi, use a VPN (virtual private network), but it’s still best to avoid public wi-fi altogether.

Sources:

https://newstalkkzrg.com/2024/10/25/bbb-tips-watch-for-holiday-shopping-scams/

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/5-best-ways-avoid-2024-190010049.html

https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/how-to-protect-your-identity-during-the-holiday-season/

https://finance.yahoo.com/personal-finance/banking/article/holiday-shopping-scam-fbi-warning-222554857.html

https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/scams-and-safety/common-frauds-and-scams/holiday-scams

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