Don’t let online crooks ruin your shopping
Think before you click. Those are words to the wise from fraud and cybersecurity experts this holiday season, when many consumers turn to their smartphones or iPads to make purchases.
“To avoid getting scammed this holiday season where fraudsters are looking to steal your money, identity and holiday cheer, never trust and always verify,” says Adam Levin, whose credits include being former director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, co-founder of Credit.com, and founder of cyber-security company CyberScout.
You don’t have to be rich
to be a target, experts say.
“You’re dealing with persistent, clever, weaponized people and you are their day job. To a hacker or a scammer, you are Kim Kardashian,” Levin said.
So consumers should take time to educate themselves about popular fraud attempts and how to protect themselves, said Trevor Buxton, a certified fraud examiner with PNC Bank, which operates 73 branches in South Florida. “Taking the extra time now will help you guard against starting out the New Year on the wrong foot.”
The pure volume of holiday shopping presents an opportunity for fraudsters: An estimated 164 million people planned to shop during Thanksgiving weekend, according to an annual survey by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. That includes Cyber Monday, when online shoppers are estimated at 48 percent of all shoppers, or 78.4 million.
Because many retailers now have chip card readers, fraud at bricks-and-mortar stores is down. So scammers have shifted their efforts online, according to the Better Business Bureau in Florida and the Caribbean. Use a credit card — instead of a debit card — to make purchases online, the BBB recommends.
When buying from a website, make sure it’s secure by looking for https in the address (the extra “s” is for “secure”) and for a lock symbol, experts say.
Levin said to go directly to a retailer’s website or use its app to make a purchase, instead of clicking on a link
in an email or in social media.
“You think you are getting the discount of a lifetime or an exclusive offer, but this is a phishing attack. When you click on the link, you have just downloaded malware,” Levin said.
Currently, there’s a fake $50 Amazon gift card scam making the rounds via email, he said. You might see a pop-up ad or phishing email where you will be directed to a clone site and asked to provide personal information and credit card information. “This site is only designed to steal your personal and financial data,” he said.
Buxton said fraudsters often take well-known brands and create a copycat website with a few extra words in the URL. To guard against these fake sites, search online for the real company’s website. Double check information such as a company’s street address on the site.
Also, watch out for clone apps, experts say. Levin said these may look like they’re from your favorite retailer, but they are infected with malware and designed to steal your data. When shopping on your smartphone or tablet, download apps from an official app store, such as Apple’s iTunes.
One way to guard against fraud is to sign up for transactional monitoring of your account with your bank or credit card, Levin said. Then you can call your bank or credit card to dispute any activity that’s not yours.
A gift card is one of the most popular options for gifts, according to the National Retail Federation. Friends and family members then can buy their own gifts online or in a store. But experts warn shoppers to be wary of picking up a card from an unattended rack in a store.
Levin said fraudsters copy the codes off the backs of gift cards before they’re purchased, and then wait for them to be activated to drain the funds. He suggests purchasing gift cards from behind store counters. Check pre-loaded cards to ensure they’re still loaded, and look at the backs of the cards for any tampering with the protective scatchoff.
Buxton said another scam this time of year is an email that says a shipper is trying to deliver a package, or that a package is undeliverable. If you don’t remember providing your email address to the shipper, it could be a phishing attack or an attempt to steal passwords, personal information or worse — your identity.
Find the shipping service’s website and phone number to verify the package delivery, he said.
Even receiving an electronic gift card, or e-card, can be be problematic. Don’t see a familiar sender? Always delete an e-card from people you don’t know, experts say.
Another red flag is when the email asks for information to open the card. Buxton said legitimate companies will never make you share personal information to open a card.
If any of these scams happen to you, contact your financial institution, law enforcement agency, and file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. You also can report a scam to the Better Business Bureau’s Scam Tracker.