Texas shoppers warned of online scams as holiday shopping weekend nears

The holiday shopping season officially kicks off this weekend, with a slew of deals from Black Friday through Cyber Monday… but is the deal too good to be true?

A lot of money is about to be flowing across Texas, and where there’s money, Jason Meza with the Better Business Bureau says there’s always the danger of someone else trying to steal it.

“Especially this time of year, don’t let your guard down,” Meza said. “You could be shopping at the mall and you get the text, or you get a notification and you simply don’t think twice.”

The BBB says losses in the state due to scams increased by nearly $1 million between 2022 and 2023. And nationwide this year alone, online shopping scam reports to the Federal Trade Commission have totaled more than $300 million.

“Social media has now become the next frontier when it comes to scams and fraud,” Meza said. “The problem is, it’s hard to vet, it’s hard to verify who’s legit and what kind of reseller or seller is.”

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Kathy Stokes with AARP says 82% of Americans have experienced some type of fraud in the past year, even if unsuccessfully. She says another common threat during the holidays is gift card scams.

“They have to watch out for the fact that criminals are really good at manipulating those cards, whether electronically or from the store,” Stokes said. “We found out that 30% of us have either given or received a gift card with no value on it, and that’s up from 21%.”

Also, peer-to-peer banking services like Venmo or CashApp should only be used with trusted friends or family.

“They simply don’t have protections, consumer protections,” Stokes said. “So really what you want to do when you’re making a purchase of an item, is use a credit card. That’s your safest bet.”

And during the season of giving, Meza says to watch out for fake charities too.

“Take time to research who the charity is and who their mission, their board of directors, and just do a little bit more digging,” Meza said. “That charity will welcome your money tomorrow just as much as today.” [[6:05]]

In all these cases, Meza says the best way to protect yourself is to think before you swipe.

“We’re always telling people to keep your guard up, in the event they see a fraud pop up or if something just doesn’t feel right, they should be suspicious,” Meza said. “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”