The holiday shopping frenzy has begun - and scammers are taking advantage of the season.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, shopping scammers swindled about $246 million from Americans last year. But that number was miniscule compared to the amount of money lost to imposter scams - $3.3 billion.
The risks of shopping online aren't just limited to losing a few dollars on a product that never arrives. There's the very real chance that someone could steal your identity.
Consumers across America will be spending millions of dollars over Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. Ahead of one of the biggest online shopping days of the year, the Better Business Bureau is cautioning shoppers who are getting ready to enter their credit card numbers to online retailers.
“Be wary of misleading advertisements, lookalike websites, and untrustworthy sellers,” Jane Rupp, President and CEO of Better Business Bureau, said in a statement.
According to the BBB, online shoppers should be aware of false advertising, phony websites and phishing scams. All three are especially prevalent this time of the year.
"If a company is selling the hottest item of the year at a price that seems too good to be true, it probably is," according to a statement from BBB. "Watch out for false advertising and keep a close eye on the web address in your browser."
Double check that the address in your browser is spelled correctly and that it begins with HTTPS://. There should also be a padlock icon at the beginning of your web address, indicating the site is secure.
"Never put personal or credit card information in forms of non-secure websites," BBB states.
The bureau also suggests using a credit card to make online purchases rather than a debit card. Fraudulent charges can be contested through the credit card company, and debit cards don't offer that same protection.
"Never make purchases with online sellers by giving them prepaid debit cards or wiring money," the BBB warns.
The bureau also suggested consumers understand return policies, and that means reading the fine print. Some retailers may not allow returns for certain items.
Finally, shoppers should be extra aware of phishing scams. The BBB warns that identity thieves could potentially steal your information not just from emails and websites, but from text messages as well.
"Look out for unsolicited emails, texts, calls or letters," according to the BBB. "These messages may claim you have a free gift waiting for you or that there is a problem with a delivery - all you need to do is click on a link or give up your personal information. Never click on links directly, especially from people you don't know."
The pandemic gave scammers a leg up thanks to so many people going online to make purchases. In 2019, consumers reported losing $1.8 billion to fraud. That number jumped to $3.3 billion in 2020. There were also approximately 1.4 million reports of identity theft - that's almost double the amount of reports in 2019.
"Online shopping was the second-most common fraud category (behind imposter scams) reported by consumers, elevated by a surge of reports in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic," the FTC reports. "Internet services; prizes, sweepstakes, and lotteries; and telephone and mobile services rounded out the top five fraud categories."
Those who are victims of fraud or suspect fraudulent activity online are urged to report the incident to the FTC.
Scams can also be reported to the Better Business Bureau's Scam Tracker.