Tips to prevent cyber scams during online shopping season

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Amazon is wrapping up its two-day Prime Day event with deals of all kinds. While some deals may seem too good to be true, some actually are.

With the rise of online shopping, cyber scams have also increased.

“Online shopping scams are one of the top three scams that we identify every year and are reported to us through BBB scam tracker,” said Jessie Schmidt, Vice President of Better Business Bureau for the South Dakota Region.

Young adults are quite experienced with technology. However, they also become the most targeted and easy prey for online shopping scams.

“Younger demographics, 18 to 24, get caught up in these scams more than any other age groups. So, again, they are very adept at using technology but they may not know all the things to look out for,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt stated that being aware of shopping on the right website is vital as phishing emails are on the rise too.

“It may look like you are on Amazon, but you are not. You are on a cloned website and so there won’t be any deals to be had, you’ll just become a victim of a scammer,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt also remarked that the use of credit cards is much safer than debit cards while purchasing things online. She urged online shoppers to make sure that the hyperlink consists of the letters ‘HTTPS’ or a padlock.

“Research the age of that domain. It’s quite easy to do. If that domain was just secured in the last couple of days, then the chances are it’s not the business that you want to do business with,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt suggests shopping locally can help prevent online scams but also has an additional benefit.

“While we do have a local Amazon presence, it’s really important to support our businesses and our community that support all the things that are important to us,” Schmidt said.

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