‘Tis the Season…To Be Careful
‘Twas the holiday season, when all through the land,
online shoppers clicked quickly to get gifts in hand.
But while they were adding treats and toys to their carts,
a holiday scammer was practicing his art…
Above is the 1st verse of a poem on the FBI.gov website[i]. It is holiday shopping season and we all must be careful.
If you’ve been victimized on the internet by a shopping scam, the FBI wants to know. You can make a complaint and get more information on the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) website at www.ic3.gov.
Some tips from the FBI include:
- Know who you are buying from on the internet. Make sure the websites you visit are legitimate and secure.
- Never wire money to a seller and don’t use prepaid gift cards.
- Learn more about scams at fbi.gov/scams and on the federal Trade Commission’s website at www.consumer.ftc.gov.
YahooFinance[ii] also offered some tips including:
- Eschew debit card use in favor of credit cards. Debit cards are connected to your bank account and its use may allow a scammer to access and drain your account. Credit cards may be a more secure shopping tool, if for no other reason, a scammer is not accessing your money directly.
- Eschew purchasing through an email or social media site in favor of purchasing directly from a retailer’s website directly. This may reduce the risk of downloading malware accidentally and of non-delivery issues.
- Eschew clicking on status links in emails from shipping firms in favor of logging into your retailer’s site directly for delivery status.
The bottom line is that we must be even more vigilant during the holiday shopping season. For additional information about personal cybersecurity and how to detect fake email addresses and links, see our 30 Minutes to Savvy Cybersecurity on-demand presentation on our website at https://www.familywealthdecisions.com/digital-seminars.
Remember, we are here to help.
[i]https://www.fbi.gov/news/podcasts/inside-the-fbi-holiday-scams-120120
[ii]https://www.yahoo.com/now/avoid-holiday-shopping-scams-2020-123634172.html
Registered associates of Family Wealth Decisions Group are registered representative of Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. Securities and investment advisory services offered through Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp., a broker/dealer (Member SIPC) and registered investment advisor. Insurance offered through Lincoln affiliates and other fine companies. Family Wealth Decisions Group is not an affiliate of Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. CRN-3362755-120920
[i]https://www.fbi.gov/news/podcasts/inside-the-fbi-holiday-scams-120120
[ii]https://www.yahoo.com/now/avoid-holiday-shopping-scams-2020-123634172.html
Registered associates of Family Wealth Decisions Group are registered representative of Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. Securities and investment advisory services offered through Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp., a broker/dealer (Member SIPC) and registered investment advisor. Insurance offered through Lincoln affiliates and other fine companies. Family Wealth Decisions Group is not an affiliate of Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. CRN-3362755-120920