Are You a Victim of Christmas Scams? Here's Where You MUST Report It

Christmas scams are rampant despite the Holiday's festive mood, with thousands of people falling victim to holiday scams every year, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Non-delivery and non-payment crimes are the most widespread holiday scams. Non-delivery scam is when a buyer pays for goods or services they find online, but the items are never received.

On the other hand, a non-payment scam is when goods or services are shipped or delivered, but the seller is never paid.

Non-payment or non-delivery holiday scams cost people more than $337 million, with credit card fraud accounting for another $173 million in losses.

There are other types of scams that consumers should be aware of.

Christmas Scams

Since the start of the pandemic, consumers have lost more than $500 million due to fraud. Online purchases comprised the majority of reported fraud.

Consumers spent $188 billion on online holiday shopping last year. With the surge in online shopping, there must also be awareness of fraudulent activities that you can fall prey to.

Among the several Christmas scams is look-alike websites, wherein scammers use professional web designs to closely imitate the appearance and feel of a standard retailer's site.

Look-alike websites are usually riddled with errors such as typos, suspicious URLs, or incorrect customer service phone numbers.

It can be difficult to identify this kind of scam as look-alike websites are almost the exact copies of official websites.

Fraudsters may also use fake charities and copy the appearance of a legitimate charity's website.

There are also gift-giving pyramid schemes, wherein scammers send you phishing emails, e-cards, or social media messages with an invitation prompting consumers to send one gift and receive up to 36 gifts back.

However, it will be too late before you realize that you will not receive any gifts and your personal information is now in the hands of a criminal.

Scammers might also offer free gift cards over unsolicited emails, phone calls, or text messages.

Travel phishing scams are also widespread, offering free flights, guaranteed travel insurance policies, and inexpensive vacation rentals.

Report Christmas Scams

Victims of fraud can start reporting the scam to their respective state consumer protection office. They can also report it to their local police if they lose money or other possessions in a scam.

Consumers can also report the scams to the federal government, with involved agencies that can keep track of scams and scam patterns.

However, agencies do not follow up after your report and cannot recover lost money. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also collects consumers' reports of scams.

The FTC accepts complaints about most scams. The agency also collects reports of identity theft.

Other internet scams, such as fake websites, emails, malware, and other internet scams, can be reported through the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

The FBI advises consumers to practice good cybersecurity hygiene to avoid holiday scams. Consumers should also verify who they are buying from or selling to and be careful about how to pay.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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