6 scams to avoid this holiday shopping season and what you can do to keep your money safe

Here are some scams to be aware of, what you can do to avoid them and what to do if you’ve fallen victim.

The IRS and the Better Business Bureau offer up these examples of scams:

6 common scams to avoid this time of year

• You might get an email or a text message that looks like it’s coming from a delivery service, like the U.S. Postal Service, UPS or others, the IRS warns. The message might say a delivery can’t be made, and it’ll include a link where you’re asked to reschedule or pay a delivery fee. They might even use logos that look like the real ones. But don’t click on that link! This is what’s known as a phishing attempt, where scammers steal personal information by getting you to click on a link, open an attachment or fill out information, which can cause you to download malware that can access your device.
• You might get an email or text from someone pretending to be a delivery driver, and they ask you to call them, the BBB reports. Don’t do it! They will try to get you to disclose or confirm information that might include your name, address and credit card information.
• On social media sites, you might get an invitation to participate in a gift exchange. It asks you to provide your information and send invitations to your friends. Then you’re asked to send a gift to a stranger, with the promise that you’ll get yours. But it’s a scam, it’s illegal and it compromises your personal information, the BBB says.
• You might get an email from someone pretending to be from the IRS or others in the tax industry. They might promise a tax refund or tell you have a tax bill or documents to download. They might make it seem like an urgent matter, disguised as either good news or bad news. But don’t click on any links or download any attachments! And don’t reply. Again, this could be a phishing attempt.
• You might even get an email that looks like it came from someone you know — it was specialized for you to make it seem legitimate. Don’t click on any links provided and don’t respond. If it looks like it’s from someone you know, call them or email them using the contact information you already have on file for them. One piece of detective work you can do is to examine the email address and look for very small differences from the addresses you typically get emails from. Or it might contain spelling and grammatical errors.
• Even trickier, you might get an email that is a clone of a real email message that was already sent to you, and it seems like it is coming from the original sender. When to be suspicious? A red flag is when it includes an attachment or link and wants you to download or click.