With the holiday shopping season in full swing, the Phoenix area Better Business Bureau has compiled its list of the top 12 scams of Christmas. When shopping or donating this holiday season, watch out for schemes trying to swipe your cash or steal your personal information.
Top scams of Christmas 2022
Misleading social media ads: The 2022 BBB Online Scams Report found that online purchase scams were the most commonly reported cons. BBB Scam Tracker receives daily reports of people paying for items that they never receive, getting charged monthly for a free trial they never signed up for or receiving an item that is counterfeit or much different from the one advertised. Before ordering, check out the business profile on BBB.org and read the reviews. Read more about misleading ads, free trial offers and counterfeit goods.
Social media gift exchanges: Each holiday season this scheme pops back up, and this year is no different. A newer version of this scam revolves around exchanging bottles of wine; another suggests purchasing $10 gifts online. Another twist asks you to submit your email into a list where participants get to pick a name and send money to strangers to "pay it forward." In all of these versions, participants unwittingly share their personal information, along with those of their family members and friends, and are further tricked into buying and shipping gifts or money to unknown individuals. It's an illegal pyramid scheme. Read more about the social media gift exchange.
Free gift cards: Nothing brings good cheer like the word "Free." Scammers have been known to take advantage of this weakness by sending bulk phishing emails requesting personal information to receive free gift cards. In some of these emails, scammers impersonate legitimate companies and promise gift cards to reward their loyal customers. They may also use pop-up ads or send text messages with links saying you were randomly selected as the winner for a prize. If you have received an unsolicited email with gift card offers, do not open it. Instead, mark it as spam or junk. Read more about gift card scams.
Alerts about compromised accounts: The extra busy holiday season means we are more likely to fall for this con. This scam claims your Amazon, Paypal, Netflix or bank account has been compromised. Victims receive an email, call or text message which explains that there has been suspicious activity on one of their accounts, and it urges them to take immediate action to prevent the account from being compromised. Read more about compromised account scams.
Fake shipping notifications: More online shopping means more notifications about shipping details from retailers and carriers. Scammers are using this new surge to send phishing emails with links enclosed that may allow unwanted access to your private information or download malware onto your device. They may also try to trick people into paying new shipping fees. Read more about delivery and package scams.
For more than 100 years, the Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2020, people turned to BBB more than 220 million times for BBB Business Profiles on 6.2 million businesses and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at BBB.org.
