It’s that time of year! Christmas has become known for more than just being the season for giving and renewing ties with family and friends. It has also become known in recent years as the season for scams.The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has just released a new Scam Alert entitled, “The 12 Scams of Christmas” giving consumers valuable information about how to avoid getting conned by crooked Christmas “Grinches” who are determined to steal some of the season’s good cheer.
The following are a few examples from their “naughty” list:
1. Misleading social media ads
Topping the list are those product advertisements that pop up while you’re scrolling through your TikTok and other social media feeds. The BBB advises consumers to always research the seller. “BBB Scam Tracker receives daily reports of people paying for items that they never receive, getting charged monthly for a free trial they never signed up for, or receiving an item that is counterfeit or much different from the one advertised.”
Click here to read more about misleading ads This link takes you to tips about how to investigate free trial offers and avoid getting trapped in monthly fees that are difficult to cancel. If you’re worried about counterfeit products, read this report on how to protect yourself from getting ripped off.
2. Social media gift exchanges
The “Secret Sister” scam – or variations of the “pay it forward” gift idea - show up every year at this time. It started a few years ago on a Facebook post that extended an invitation by email or social media asking you to provide your name, address, and the personal information of a few friends to a list of unknown people on the internet. Next, you send a gift to the first person on the list, then send the same invitation by email or social media to friends, inviting them to send a modest gift to a stranger along with their friends, family and contacts.
“In all of these versions, you give away your personal information, and you're left buying and shipping gifts or money to unknown individuals, hoping that someone else will reciprocate the favor by sending the promised number of gifts in return. Unfortunately, it often doesn't happen. Like any other pyramid scheme, it relies on recruiting individuals to keep the scam afloat. Once people stop participating in the gift exchange, the gift supply also stops, leaving hundreds of disappointed people without their promised gifts or cash.”
As the BBB adds, these schemes are just another version of the classic pyramid scheme which is illegal in the US. You can read more about them here.
3. Holiday apps
Be wary of apps available on Apple’s App Store and Google Play list which let children video chat with a live Santa, relay their holiday wish lists, or track Santa’s progress on Christmas Eve.
As the BBB recommends: “Review privacy policies to see what information will be collected. Be wary of free apps, as they can sometimes contain more advertising than apps that require a nominal fee. Free apps can also contain malware. Be sure to read reviews as well. Read more about holiday apps here.
4. Fake toll collection texts
Travel to family and friends is very much a part of the Christmas season which is why consumers need to be aware of fake road toll collection texts aimed at tricking them into sending money they don’t owe.
“In this con, scammers impersonate a state road tollway collection service and text you saying you owe a road toll fee and provide a link to click to make your payment. If you receive at text, don’t click the link. Instead, if you think you may owe road tolls, verify your outstanding balance with the legitimate agency.” This site gives more information on this scam.
5. Fake shipping notifications
The surge in online purchasing has created the perfect environment for scammers who try to trick people into believing their package is being held up pending more information. Scammers send phishing emails and texts about prospective package deliveries with links to provide whatever information is needed for delivery. Unfortunately, these links may allow access to your personal information or download malware into your device.
“Never click a link in a text or email that you’re not expecting. If you want to track a package, find the original email or text confirmation you received directly from the store and use that link.”
This article gives tips on how to avoid the most popular versions of this scam.
6. Free gift cards
That free gift card offer may cost you more than you’re willing to spend. In this scheme, scammers send bulk phishing emails requesting personal information to receive free gift cards. Some of these emails are masterfully designed to look like legitimate companies who say you were randomly selected from a list of faithful customers as the winner of a free gift card.
“If you have received an unsolicited email with gift card offers, do not open it. Instead, mark it as spam or junk and delete it. However, if you opened the email, do not click on any links.”
Read more here on how to protect yourself from these scams.
7. Holiday wishlist items
There’s a big market out there for low-priced luxury goods like designer clothing and the latest technology, but the BBB warns that sites hawking these items are almost always counterfeits and knockoffs. Sadly, this scam also includes the season’s hottest toys like Po the AI Story Bear that delivers a story via artificial intelligence (see this blog about the dangers of these types of toys) and Gabby’s Dollhouse Meow-mazing Interactive Dollhouse.
This is how the scheme works: “You are looking for one of this season’s hot toys, but it’s sold out at every store you visit. You decide to do a quick online search or spot an ad in your social media feed. This takes you to a website that miraculously has the toy in stock. The site may look professional and have original images of the product. It may even offer the product at discounted prices, claiming a ‘last-minute deal’ or ‘flash sale.’”
Buyers believed they were getting the toy but instead received a cheap counterfeit version. IN some cases, the product never shipped and when the buyer tried to contact the seller, the website had disappeared.
As one shopper who bought an AI Panda online told the BBB Scam Tracker: "This company promised a AI panda that reacts with your touch, what i recieved [sic] is a small stuffed panda with a hanging string in its head and no battery or electrical components, just a cheap claw machine toy, the ad is very misleading as it shows a stuffed panda reacting to your touch, stating it is a calming bear."
Read more here about how to protect yourself from hot toy scams.
Click here to read the full BBB report and use this link to report a scam.
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