Avoid These Holiday Scams
Podcast Transcription
Money Talk is a podcast brought to you by PFCU where we will share tips and tricks and talk to the experts on all things finance related. Join us as we cover everything from credit and loans to cyber security and careers. No matter where you are in life, PFCU is here for you.
Can you hear the jingle bells? Welcome to this special holiday scam episode of PFCU’s Money Talk podcast, I’m your host, Maddy we are here again, can you believe it? The holidays are basically here! And I wanted to revisit some tips for keeping your information safe this holiday season and avoiding those holiday scams. Now, we all know that fraudsters are at work year-round to find their victims and the holidays provide an extra opportunity to try and infiltrate your personal information. So, here some tips to avoid getting scammed this holiday season because we do not need the extra stress.
Number one, cybersecurity is a must. Don’t click any suspicious links or attachments in emails, on websites, or on social media. Phishing scams get you to click on links and give up personal information like your name, password, bank account number. In some cases, you may unknowingly download malware to your device. Be especially wary if a company asks you to update your password or account information. Look up the company’s phone number separately and call the company.
Also, know who you are buying from. Check each website’s URL to make sure it’s legitimate. A site you’re buying from should have https in the web address, and make sure that it's spelled properly. If you’re purchasing from a company for the first time do some research on it and make sure to check reviews from 3rd party sources. Try to stay away from reviews, reviews on the website itself can be good but see if there are reviews elsewhere online.
Verify the legitimacy of a seller before moving forward with a purchase. If you’re using an online marketplace or auction website, check for their feedback rating. Be wary of buyers and sellers that have mostly unfavorable feedback ratings or none at all. Avoid sellers who act as authorized dealers or factory representatives of popular items in countries where there would be no such deals. And avoid buyers who request that their purchase be shipped using a certain method to avoid customs or taxes inside another country. Very suspicious.
Choose your payment method wisely. You never want to wire money directly to a seller and you don’t want to pay for anything with prepaid gift cards. In these scams, the seller is going to ask you to send them the gift card number and the PIN and you’re never going to get that money back. So, instead of using that gift card for your payment, the scammer is going to steal the funds and you’ll never receive your item. It’s best to use a credit card when shopping online and check your statement regularly so you can keep an eye out for any suspicious transactions, whether they’re big or super, super small. And make sure if you do see that to contact your credit card company to dispute any charges.
A really big one for the holiday season is to monitor the shipping process. Always get tracking numbers for the items you buy online so you can make sure that they have been shipped and can follow the delivery process. You don’t want to click on any links in emails of tracking numbers or tracking notifications or shipping notifications that you were not expecting or for an item that you did not purchase.
Always remember, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. And with that, have a happy holiday season, everyone!
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