It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The Holiday Season is right in front of us. We’re all in a joyful mood and are looking for ways to help the less fortunate.
But, your good mood and generosity also make you a target – a very desirable target.
We hear about scams and talk about scams. It’s even to the point where we joke about the phone calls we all receive that our cars extended warranty is about to expire.
But, what exactly is a scam?
Dictionary.com defines “scam” as “a confidence game or other fraudulent scheme, especially for making a quick profit; swindle”
According to the FBI [1] the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) “received more than 17,000 complaints of non-delivery goods, resulting in over $53 million in losses during the 2020 holiday season.” Those numbers are from last year. It is expected the losses will be greater this year.
Scams come to us in both the physical world and the cyber world. And they increase this time of year. And a real difficulty is determining whether something is legitimate or whether it is a scam.
Here are some examples of physical scams that you may run across:
- Purported homeless person asking for help – Now, I’m especially careful with this one because there are number of people who truly need our help and we should help them. But, there are also folks who don’t need your help but are scamming you. It is important to take the time to talk with the person, get their story, and then determine whether there is a legitimate need or not. If the need is real then be generous. If it is a scam walk away.
- Work-from-home opportunities – You’ll often see these posted on a public bulletin board or on a utility pole near the sidewalk. They often will display an unreasonable hourly wage for menial work. And when you really need some extra cash – like during the holiday season – they can be very tempting. Be cautious! If you are interested, do some research on the company listed before reaching out to them.
- False charities – This is very common during the Holiday Season because we are all in a giving mood. But know who you are giving to! It is easy for a scammer to set up a false charity that looks incredibly legitimate. Then they are able to profit from people who think they are giving to a legit organization. Once again, do your research
Some examples of common cyber scams you will see:
- Online shopping – Criminals often will set up a fake storefront that looks likes a real store. And they have some unrealistically good deals. When you make a purchase from a fake site there are several possible undesirable outcomes. You may receive a counterfeit product. You might receive items that have been stolen. You might not ever receive any product!
- Social media – Scammers like to use ads on social media. A common tactic is to offer gift cards in exchange for completing a survey. Sometimes they even require credit card information!
- Text message on your smartphone – This one is being seen more and more. The scammer will send you a text message with a link. I’ve received these that say the link has tracking information for a purchase, or that the link is so I can change my bank password. When you tap on the link, the browser on your smartphone opens up to a fake login page. Often the scammer is trying to get your login credentials to some website.
These types of scams work because they are using proven psychological tactics. People respond to several types of stimuli that can lead to falling for a scam. Scammers like to be liked because we respond better to people we like. Scammers like to make an offer because they know you will return the favor. Scammers like to try to get a very small commitment of some kind because that leads to a larger commitment. Scammers like to use phrases like “Limited time only!” because scarcity generates demand. Scammers like to “show” that many other people are acting, so you can trust them and act also.
What’s worse is that these tactics are used in legitimate sales calls also.
So, how can we avoid scams this Holiday season (and all the time)?
- Be alert – Some call this “situational awareness”. Know what you are doing online and what the results should be. If you receive an unexpected text message or email, don’t click the link until you have verified it is real. Don’t just give your hard-earned money to every cause asking for it. Validate they are who they say they are and that the need is real.
- Question legitimacy of everything – Don’t trust everything you read or see on the Internet. You got an advertisement on Facebook that you can purchase a pair of Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG shoes for $64.99? Check that out carefully because they should be going for over $250! And that sign on the utility pole for work stuffing envelopes for $30/hour? Check that one out carefully too. In short, verify anything that looks or sounds too good to be true.
- Respect those phishing emails – Learn how to recognize a phishing email. If you receive an unexpected email, don’t click links! Does the email just seem “funny”? Delete it!
- Monitor your credit cards – You should regularly review the charges made against your credit cards. Look for anything that looks suspicious. Pay attention to any purchases you made from websites that are outside of your normal shopping sites. If you see something suspicious, get ahold of the card issuer.
- Know the sites you are buying from – Do you regularly shop at amazon.com? You’ve got your purchase history indicating they can be trusted. But, did you just find a great deal on ear buds from BobsEarBuds.com[2]? You really should do some research to verify they are legitimate.
Enjoy the holidays! Give generously to those who are truly in need. Just take a little extra time to make sure you don’t get taken in by a scammer.
Resources
- The Naughty List: BBB’s 12 Scams of Christmas
- Social Engineering Attacks on Social Media | The Social Media Monthly
- The Top 5 Most Common Homeless Scams (From an Ex-Homeless Person) – HomelessAdvice.com
- How To Recognize and Report Spam Text Messages | FTC Consumer Information
- Charity Scams – How to Tell If a Charity Is a Fraud (aarp.org)
- Identity Theft: 10 Steps To Recover If Your Identity Is Stolen | Bankrate.com
[2] – BobsEarBuds.com is not a registered domain at the time of this writing.
