Better Business Bureau warns shoppers about holiday scams, sharing what to watch for
WACO, Texas (KWTX) - Holiday shopping scams are on the rise as Christmas approaches, the Better Business Bureau warning online shoppers to be on the lookout for them.
According to the BBB, from the start of November to the end of December scams always run rampant, online shopping making consumers even more vulnerable.
“There’s a lot of opportunities to be taken advantage of during the holiday season, and that’s unfortunate because it is the season of giving,” said Devin Benavides with the Heart of Texas BBB.
Benavides says the reason more scammers target people during the holiday season is because they know people are more likely to overlook red flags.
“We’re rushing, we’re trying to get things, we’re trying to check off our list, make sure everything gets here on time, that everybody gets what they want, those hard to find items,” Benavides explained.
Common holiday scams include selling fraudulent items, porch pirating and shipping scams designed to steal personal information. But the biggest threat is online purchasing scams.
“These online retailers are spoofing legitimate retailers, or you’ll see these ads on social media that look very good, are a great price,” Benavides said.
Scammers are now even using artificial intelligence to make their schemes more believable.
“They’re gonna use AI to make the products look more legitimate, or they’re gonna use AI deepfakes to make it look like it’s being endorsed by somebody that it’s not,” Benavides explained.
Last year he Heart of Texas BBB regional office alone received more than 300 reports of online purchase scams.
Benavides says this resulted in Texas residents losing over $150,000 to scammers. Already, their office is on track to reach similar numbers this year.
To avoid these scams she recommends doing research before buying, using secure and traceable payment methods, and being cautious of deals that seem too good to be true.
“They want you to feel like this is the best deal and it’s only gonna last right now and if you miss out, you miss out and that’s hardly ever true,” Benavides said.
She asks that anyone who does get scammed report it to the BBB at www.bbb.org/scamtracker, in order to help prevent future incidents.
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