Scammers ramping up activity during holiday shopping season, expert warns

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – The holiday season is a tempting target for identity thieves and scammers, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Online shoppers, in particular, have led to an increase of fraud and identity theft victims over the holidays, personal finance analyst and writer for WalletHub, Chip Lupo, said.

“When you’re in the midst of the holiday rush, you tend not to be as vigilant as you would be during the other times of year,” he said. “Especially when you’re making online purchases.”

The IRS is warning against one of the most common scams this holiday season: false text and email messages made to look like they are from delivery services. In reality, the messages represent a form of phishing that attempts to steal personal information or download malware, according to the IRS.

“Most people, they see identity fraud all around them and people think they are invulnerable, that this could never happen to me, and guess what? It very well could happen to you,” Lupo said. “So this is the time of year, be very vigilant.”

Experts at WalletHub advise consumers to be discerning. If there is even a tiny bit of suspicion about something, don’t click on it. They also advise people to check their bank and credit card statements as soon as possible to look for unknown purchases, and notify banks of anything that looks off.

The IRS also offers these tips for consumers during the holiday shopping season, and throughout the year:

• Shop at online sites with web addresses that begin with the letters “https:” the “s” stands for secure communications. Also look for a padlock icon in the browser window.
• Don’t shop on unsecured public Wi-Fi in places like a mall or restaurant.
• Ensure security software is updated on computers, tablets and mobile phones.
• Watch out and help protect the devices of family members who may not be technologically savvy, a wide range that goes from young children to older adults.
• Make sure anti-virus software for computers has a feature to stop malware, and that there is a firewall enabled to prevent intrusions.
• Use strong, unique passwords for online accounts.
• Use multi-factor authentication whenever possible.

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