FBI: Beware of these holiday shopping scams

WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — Though the holiday season is a joyous time for many, thousands of people are victimized every year by holiday cons, robbing you of more than just a festive mood.

As Thanksgiving Day kicked off, the FBI warned people to be aware of common scams this time of year.

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What kind of scams happen?

• Non-delivery scams: You pay for goods or services you find online, but never receive your items.

• Non-payment scams: You ship a good or service, but never receive payment from the person.

• Auction fraud: A product you buy was misrepresented on an auction site.

• Gift card fraud: A seller asks you to pay with a pre-paid card.

How to protect yourself

Whether you’re shopping or selling during the holiday season, there are steps you can take to protect yourself. As always, if it seems too good to be true, that’s because it is, the FBI reminded.

• Practice good cybersecurity hygiene: Don’t click on suspicious links or attachments in emails, on websites or social media. Phishing scams often get you to click on links and give up personal information, such as your name, password and bank account number. You could also accidentally download malware to your device.

• Know who you’re buying from or selling to: Check websites’ URLs to make sure they are legitimate and secure. If there isn’t an “https” in the web address, don’t enter your information on that site.

• If you’re buying something from a company for the first time, be sure to check reviews.

• Before moving forward with a purchase, verify the legitimacy of the buyer or seller. You can do this by checking someone’s feedback rating and reviews, for example.

• Be wary of sellers who post an auction or ad as if they live in the U.S., but then respond to questions saying they are out of the country.

• Avoid selling to people who request their item be shipped using a certain method to avoid customs or taxes in another country.

Be careful how you pay

• Never wire money directly to a seller.

• Avoid paying with pre-paid gift cards.

• Use a credit card when shopping online and check your statement regularly.

Monitor the shipping process

• Always get tracking numbers for items you buy online.

• Be suspicious of purchases where the address of the cardholder does not match their shipping address.

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