Holiday scams to watch out for

SCAM

By Laurie Bullock

laurieb@lwsb.com

While holiday celebrations will look very different in 2020 as people seek out a balance between celebrating and staying safe, one tradition isn’t going anywhere: online scams.

Only a few scams are specific to the holidays, but the most popular ones are normal fraud schemes looking to take advantage of the busy buying season. Since most of the country will likely shop online to help reduce the possibility of contracting COVID-19, scammers will try to trick bargain hunters with fake social media posts, fake websites, or impersonating major brands in your email inbox.

Here are a few possible scams to look out for, according to www. AARP.com: Charity scams: One-third of all charitable giving is done in December, fundraising software company Network for Good reports. Which means more sham charities exploiting people’s goodwill via fake websites and pushy telemarketers.

Delivery scams: As holiday packages crisscross the country, scammers send out phishing emails disguised as UPS, FedEx or U.S. Postal Service notifications of incoming or missed deliveries. Links lead to phony sign-in pages asking for personal information or to sites infested with malware.

Travel scams: Despite the pandemic, nearly 2 in 5 Americans plan to travel during the holidays in 2020 a survey by mobile-booking app maker Hopper found (the CDC recommends avoiding unnecessary/ non emergency air travel to reduce the current surge of coronavirus cases). Spoof booking sites and email offers proliferate, with travel deals that look too good to be true and probably are.

Although it might seem daunting to shop online while knowing scammers are out there, here are some simple things you can look out for that will show you if sites are real or a scam:

• Huge discounts on hot gift items (like expensive electronics selling for only $50, prices way below the Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales), especially when touted on social media posts or unfamiliar websites.

• Spelling errors or shoddy grammar on a shopping website or in an email.

• A shopping or travel site does not list a phone number or street address for the business and offers only an email address or a fill-in contact form.

• A site does not have a privacy policy.

• An unsolicited email asks you to click on a link or download an app to access a deal or arrange a delivery.

The best way to make sure that you aren’t being scammed while you online shop is to make sure you double check the brand’s spelling on it’s website, and avoid deals that are way too good to be true.