With the holiday season underway here are some tips to help with your online shopping experience to make things easier for you while you shop.
According to Nick Biasini, the head of outreach for Cisco Talos, a threat intelligence organization, he stated that many scammers are trying to grab your attention online, in order to lure you offline by offering sweet deals related to the hottest toys out there.
According to the BBB, 81% of people who didn’t research the website through an independent source ended up losing money.
Fake sites often have grammatical errors, mistakes in the URL, and a ton of bad online reviews. Look for contact information.
Scammers will often try to entice you while you’re scrolling. Many schemers have access to tools that help them understand buying behaviors. According to the BBB, they can float ads online to entice you by offering exactly what you’ve been looking for.
The BBB stated that 54% of those who received shipping information found out it was fake. The key is NOT to click on the tracking link. The BBB strongly advises you to go to the shipper’s website and enter in the tracking code for yourself to see if it’s legit.
Do not use a debit card, gift cards, pre-paid money cards, wire transfers, etc to pay for items online
Watch out for weird text messages from unknown numbers with links to gift cards. Clicking that link tells the scammers a real person is on the other end of that number (or email or social media message).
