While Christmas may be a time of giving for you, for scammers the holidays are a time of taking.
Buying gifts and donating to charities givers scammers tons of opportunities to get your personal information and money.
"Whether you shop online or in the malls, you are exposed to a variety of holiday scams and frauds," said Sandra Crozier-McKee from the Better Business Bureau in B.C. "Scammers are looking to take advantage of people's generosity so it is crucial for consumers to be on the lookout for fraudulent charities, phony online retailers or even pickpockets in crowded stores."
To help keep you and your money safe this month, the BBB has put together a list of 12 Christmas scams to be aware of:
- Malware e-cards: Viruses and malware can travel in e-mail attachments or links. Don't click on e-mails from someone you don't know, instead, delete it.
- Stranded grandkids: If your grandchild, other relative or friend calls or e-mails to say they were robbed or hurt overseas, check before wiring money, it’s probably a scam.
- Counterfeit gifts: Low priced luxury goods are almost always cheap counterfeits.
- Pickpockets: Keep your purse or wallet secure when shopping for Christmas gifts. In the hustle and bustle of the busy season, you might not even notice where it went off to
- Stolen gift cards: Buy gift cards only from reputable dealers.
- Fake coupons: Be cautious when downloading coupons, especially if the site asks for personal information.
- Santa scammers: If your child gets a letter from Santa, make sure the site is real and not gathering your data for identity theft purposes.
- Fake charities: Charities count on end-of-the-year giving, so be generous, but watch for fake charities with similar sounding names.
- Bogus websites: Red flags of fake websites include http (instead of the more secure https), no contact information and asking for payment by wire or money card.
- Travel scams: Watch out when booking a trip through online ads and never wire money to someone you don't know.
- Romance scams: Be careful if someone is moving too fast or asks for money. It could be a scam prying on your holiday vulnerability.
- Puppy scams: Be very careful buying pets online. You may get a puppy mill pooch with problems, or you may get nothing at all if it’s a scam.
