Online Shopping Scams To Watch For & How To Avoid Them

The holiday shopping season is well underway and that presents a perfect opportunity for scammers.

Amie Mitchell with the Better Business Bureau joined News On 6 at Noon to talk about ways to shop safely and smartly.

Reagan: Well, it feels like just yesterday we were lining up outside of the mall at 4 a.m. to get the best deals. Now myself included I do almost all of my shopping online. What are some concerns people should be aware of?

Amie: Our main concern is getting scammed by fake websites and fake ads and things like this. Remember your internet social media sites are tracking us they kind of know your preferences and what you're looking for. So you may have some scam, things pop up and it looks great and you click on it and then you end up getting scammed. Or right now we see a lot of fake websites. People will throw up a quick website they can make you know $100,000 In a day take the website down boom they win. So we really want to avoid that by doing all the research checking with BBB checking the reviews, checking the product and the price all of those things need to be done.

Reagan: What are some of the tips you have for people who are out there shopping for their kids or their loved ones and what to do?

Amie: I mean my best advice is really to do your research know what product you're looking for if it's a hot product that you're looking for be really careful I mean if it's limited stock here and there be careful with going on to like a third party website where someone might be reselling it that's very likelihood that you will get scammed Hot Toys this season are going to be difficult to obtain.

Reagan: Now my I was telling you in the break that I had a situation this week that I thought of Amy So I ordered a pair of shoes and paid for him got the order confirmation that a couple of days later I got an email from the same company saying your order has been cancelled payment voided. Click on this link to contact us and I was like huh so I was thinking about it. I'm like what's what should I do here? So I went to the actual website and I found their contact email and use that one specifically it turns out it was the same one but I was thinking do you see scams that way too?

Amie: Yes. Tracking information, confirmation for information on an order even text messages on tracking information anything like that to confirm a purchase or hey, we need any additional information or anything like that is trying to get you to react in order to get your information to steal your identity or credit card information whatever it is and we see a lot of that right now you're gonna get text and oh yeah I did order that it is time for that to be delivered. Do not click on any of those links in the email do exactly what you have done go to the website to their website login if you need to email that contact you did it perfectly.

Reagan: I passed the test! You know everybody's looking for deals right now look at try to try to save some money because everything's expensive right now. What's the one-way scammers are luring people in?

Amie: It's going to be to make things look like they're real and the hot products so you remember anybody can go online and steal a picture and professional photos do not necessarily mean it is the real product. So what we're seeing right now are maybe the third vendor sites and they're posting things like you'll have a shirt and a really cute logo or maybe something like that. That's maybe licensed by one of these other companies they're not allowed to use but they can download any image and make anything look real. You purchase it you get scammed you're out the money and they've they've gotten there

Reagan: So people have questions before they click any links can they go to BBB and check stuff out?

Amie: Absolutely, we suggest we are the place to go to check your reviews to check anything out about a company if they have complaints how other consumers have dealt with them. BBB is your best place to start.