LANSING, Mich (WLNS)–Cyber Monday is known to be the biggest online shopping day of the year but also the same day that many people tend to get scammed from fake shopping websites.
While we are still in the COVID-19 pandemic, Adobe analytics predicts Americans will spend around $11.3 billion in sales and the National Retail Federation expected more than 60 million to shop Cyber Monday.
To help keep Michiganders safe while shopping during the holiday season, Attorney General Dana Nessel
began a campaign called “16 days of scams” where you can educate yourself on how to protect your wallet.
Some of the tips from the campaign include the following:
- Trust Where You Shop. Shopping IRL (in real life) offers this advantage. You will know the business and their existing inventory. But on the web, some businesses are fabricated by people who just want your credit card information or other personal details.
- Avoid online retailers if you cannot verify their listed physical locations and customer service phone numbers. Anyone can set up an online shop, list a physical location and phone number; that does not guarantee the business is legitimate. Research unfamiliar companies before you place an order.
- Do an online image search of the product and any other images the seller has posted to see where the product is coming from, how much it really costs and who else is selling it. Watch this video to learn how to do that.
- When making online purchases pay with a credit card. Credit cards provide protections that allow you to dispute charges if an item is not delivered or is not as promised. For more information, see our Attorney General Consumer Alert Card v Debit Card – Know the difference.
In recent years, online sales for this single-day event have risen into the billions with consumers spending an average of $128.
In fact, last year’s Cyber Monday produced the largest online shopping day in history with consumers spending $10.7 billion.
As more people continue to work from home, home accessories remain a top priority for shoppers such as laptops and home improvement products.