The FBI has warned consumers to be wary of online scammers during the holiday shopping season, especially when it comes to offers that seem “too good to be true.”
Online shoppers are advised to be particularly cautious of non-delivery scams, where they pay for goods or services but never receive the items, and auction fraud, where products are misrepresented on auction sites.
The FBI also warned about non-payment scams, where consumers ship purchased goods but never receive payment, as well as gift card fraud, in which sellers ask buyers to make payment via a pre-paid card.
“The IC3 receives a large volume of complaints in the early months of each year, suggesting a correlation with the previous holiday season’s shopping scams,” the bureau stated.
To protect against online scams, people are advised to avoid clicking on suspicious links or attachments in emails, websites, or social media, which could be phishing attempts to steal personal information or contain malware.
Consumers are also urged to ensure that every website they visit is legitimate and secure. The FBI cautioned against providing personal information on sites that do not have “https” in their web address.
The FBI also warned people to refrain from using pre-paid gift cards for purchases and recommended that consumers regularly check their credit card transaction statements when shopping online. Consumers are also advised to track the shipping process of their purchased goods.
“Unusually low prices are a sign of a scam. Don’t click on ads that advertise a product at a very low price when you know it’s usually a very expensive item,” the FTC stated.
The FTC urged consumers to do research before buying from a new seller and avoid making purchases using gift cards, wire transfers, payment apps, and cryptocurrency—which are commonly used by scammers.
Authorities received about 880,418 complaints related to cybercrime last year, which resulted in estimated losses of more than $12.5 billion, a 22 percent increase in losses compared to 2022, according to the IC3 report.