It's that time of year for online shoppers to do their Christmas shopping, and nothing attracts this more than online scammers. Online shoppers need to be aware of scams, especially around the holidays where scammers can find easy targets.
There are twelve different online scams to keep your eyes peeled for:
1. Social Media
The biggest scam these days involves social media. Nowadays we use social media for almost everything and it is a popular way to stay in touch with friends and family. Scammers exploit this connection by sending ads and links through hacked accounts. Credit card and personal information are taken resulting in identity theft.
2. Travel Scams
Travel scams are popular during the holiday season as it is the most traveled time of the year to visit friends and family. First of all, fake travel sites to convince you to book hotel rooms that have deals that are too good to be true.
Even while traveling or after arriving to your destination you may encounter a scam. It has been reported that while staying at a hotel guest have received a pop up that says in order to connect to Wi-Fi the guest needs to download a specific software to access the internet.
3. Holiday Phishing
Holiday phishing usually occurs within emails to try to get people to want to read more.
4. Prizes
Everyone loves a free iPhone or iPad. Something we see a lot is a pop of an advertisement to win a new Apple product and this can be an easy lure to those in need of gifts.
5. Holiday SMiShing
Holiday SMiShing is a way to scam via text message. It includes all of the above just through a smartphone. This can include alerts from your bank or advertisers trying to get your personal information. This can be another reason to look out at your bank statements.
6. Gift Cards
Gift cards are the way to go when you can’t think of a gift for something. Usually what gets online shoppers to click on an advertisement is when a gift card price is cheaper than the actual value of a gift card (i.e., $20 for a $30 value). Be aware for these.
7. Donating
Donating to a charity is a good way to get into the holiday spirit by giving to those in need. There can be a variety of ways scammers use to get people to click all the exact links to steal your money via advertisements online, emails, or texts.
8. E-Cards
E-cards are a great and easy way for people to send greetings to their friends and families. Allowing for people to add personal touches to each E-card that is sent. However, scammers have learned to take advantage of this by attaching viruses or spyware to the E-cards that can be used to hack into your computer taking control of your computer and revealing personal information. Great precaution must be taken when using E-cards. Checking the legitimacy of the sites is always recommended.
9. Facetime/Pop-ups
FaceTime is used by many to see your loved ones during the season without actually being there. There might be a scam that says “Is this your profile picture?” and if so, “Click here.” Don’t fall for it as you might be giving access to various links including all of your personal account information including PayPal and credit cards.
10. Mobile Apps
More and more cellphone users are deciding to go with a smartphone which includes downloading mobile applications. There are certain apps that are not secure and can take your personal information after you try to purchase it. This is why it is good to read reviews beforehand to make sure it is legitimate.
11. Ads
It might seem unusual but classified ads actually published phony ads for gifts or jobs. Be cautious of giving out too much information. If you fee it is unnecessary, don’t trust it.
12. E-trailers
Falling for phony e-trailers is one of the easiest way for scammers to make off with your money. Many people prefer to shop online to avoid long lines and the trouble of find things at the store, making it very convenient. However, sometimes certain items may be sold out on one website which will cause you to look into other websites that you may not be too familiar with resulting in scammers taking your money. Doing background checks on websites before purchasing is always the best ways to go or using PayPal can also help avoid being scammed.
The holidays and the New Year are joyous times but some might try to take that away. Scammers are all in it for the money, but don’t let them take yours!
