Avoid Online Scams and Gimmicks

With holiday sales and shopping ramping up this time of year, Pasco Sheriff’s Office is sharing information to help prevent potential victims from falling for online scams and gimmicks. Scammers embrace technology to continually cultivate new virtual schemes to deceive potential victims. Most scams are different variations of the same sly trick: cheating valuable information or hard-earned money from unsuspecting victims.

Look-a-Like Website Scams

Scammers create spoofed websites with similar designs and drastically low pricing to mimic well-known retailers. Social media advertisements of deals too-good-to-be-true lead victims to the convincing spoofed websites. Victims then complete their transactions with payment for products that may not even exist. In addition to scammers collecting more than just payments, these look-a-like websites can gather personal and financial information for future crimes of identity theft, while also downloading malware to devices during the process. To tell if a website is secure, look for a padlock symbol in the browser bar. A sign of a scam site can also be a site that was recently created. Using the Whois Lookup domain tracker can tell how long a website has been live.

Social Media Gift Exchange Scams

Although this can appear as innocent fun, this scam is a pyramid scheme which recruits innocent victims to keep the scam afloat. Social media gift exchange scams mislead participants into sending a gift, with the false hope of receiving presents in return. Participants send one gift and share their personal information with others to send gifts to them. In addition to luring friends and family to this scam, this scam collects the victims’ personal information potentially exposing them to identity theft or future scams. If you see these scams, report the social media posts or photos. Never share, comment or interact with these posts to keep personal information safe. Pyramid schemes are a form of gambling and are illegal in the US.

Social Media Discount Code Scams

This scam commonly involves an online jewelry store but can include different variations with other high-cost items, such as electronics or designer items. Scammers post a promo code on social media for discounted merchandise that alleges the victim only needs to pay shipping costs. Victims fill their carts as the shipping costs grow. Scam websites often withhold contact information, a return policy or the cancellation process, leaving victims with limited ways to dispute transactions. The best way to avoid a discount scam is to avoid deals that appear too good to be true or to verify website addresses. Shopping with a credit card can offer additional financial protection, allowing you to cancel fraudulent charges.

If a deal looks too good to be true, it may be a scam trying to bait shoppers. Knowing the signs of a scam can prevent you from becoming a victim; educating friends and family also shares awareness to keep others safe from these scams. This holiday season, take time to shop safely!