The holiday shopping season is here. And it’s a target-rich environment for scammers.
“With so many people shopping this holiday season — and any holiday season — criminals are really seeing this as an opportunity,” said Christina FitzPatrick, state director for the AARP New Hampshire.
Here are a couple common scams this time of year — and tips for avoiding them.
Be careful about gift cards
In many stores this time of year, rows of gift cards hang from easy-to-access displays. FitzPatrick said to be wary of buying cards from those displays.
That’s because criminals sometimes tamper with those cards, obtaining barcodes and other information before putting them back on the rack. Then, when a customer activates one of those cards, the scammers can drain it of value before it can be used.
A recent AARP survey found about a quarter of people had bought or received a gift card that ended up having no money on it, according to FitzPatrick.
She said it’s safer to buy gift cards that are kept behind a store’s counter. Or, better yet, buy an electronic gift card directly from a retailer’s website. “That really eliminates the chance that there will be fraud,” she said.
This is separate from another common type of scam, in which someone will claim to be from a government agency, tell the victim they owe money (for back taxes or another reason) and demand payment in gift cards. The IRS and other government agencies say they will never ask someone to pay in gift cards.
Beware fake shipping notifications
Scammers also take advantage of the flurry of online orders this time of year, FitzPatrick said.
One thing to watch out for? Fake texts or emails that claim to be from a company trying to deliver you something – and that instruct you to click on a link or enter your personal information to complete the delivery.
FitzPatrick said that’s probably a ploy to steal your personal information.
“Oftentimes, the way to protect yourself from fraud is to stop and take a breath and really, really think about what's happening here and whether it makes sense,” she said. “So if it's a notification of shipping, but it doesn't say which company is trying to ship something to you, that's a red flag.”
She also noted that if you need to call customer service, get the number directly from the company’s website. Scammers, she said, can manipulate search results so that fake customer service numbers appear.
