Shopping online this holiday? Beware of scammers, authorities warn

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – With the convenience of online shopping mixed with Cyber Monday deals, millions of people may be quick to click ‘buy now’.

However, the holiday season is prime time for eager scammers targeting vulnerable shoppers.

The National Retail Federation projected some 72 million Americans would partake in Cyber Monday shopping.

Whether its a suspicious website, or a product you stumbled on through social media, sketchy website are all over the internet, designed to look like the real thing.

“Often times there are websites that purport themselves to be legitimate. You may even receive some emails, advertising type of emails or messages, from these sites, but if you pay attention to them, you’re gonna see the spelling errors, the grammatical errors, maybe the phone number might look a bit odd,” HPD Sgt. Chris Kim of CrimeStoppers Honolulu said.

These days, even company logos can be recreated and falsified.

“I’ve seen in my own personal email where, I’m gonna get an email from someone saying, ‘OK, it’s Amazon,’ but when you look at the logo like something seems a bit off. When you look further into it, don’t take it for face value, and I’ll definitely look more into it. Do your research. If you need to search the address, do a Google search or the address or the phone number just to make sure that’s legitimate,” Kim added.

And if you do suspect you may have been scammed, Kim suggests notifying your credit card companies as soon as possible and freeze your cards to prevent more funds from being taken out.

Shoppers can also check the validity of businesses with the Better Business Bureau. All of this applies not only to online shopping, but charitable organizations and donations as well.

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