November/December 2022
With the holiday shopping season well underway, the Howard County Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) warns consumers to expect holiday scams. Here are some tips to help you avoid becoming a victim:
Shopping tips for savvy consumers
Beware of "porch pirates" and fraudulent retailers
Track your shipments and make sure you will be home or at work to accept delivery to thwart porch pirates and mail marauders targeting your door and your mailbox. Take checks and gift cards to the post office to mail.
Research new-to-you online retailers before making a purchase - search the business name with the terms “scam” or “complaint.” Online reviews could be opinion spam - paid to post falsehoods or bot-driven. If the price seems too good to be true, or if the item is offered on a basic website with little contact information, or uses a Gmail account, these are red flags to heed.
If shopping on an online marketplace, know that scammers may copy photos from legitimate advertisements and then offer an unusually low price to draw you in. The product, if it ever arrives, will likely not be what was ordered or come damaged. If you are the seller, beware of fake buyers who ask for your phone number or want to pay by check or payment app. The check could be counterfeit and the payment app could be tied to a stolen account. That verification code a potential buyer sends could be used to set up a Google Voice account using your phone number which is then used to make scam calls.
When to pay by credit card vs. debit card
When shopping online, always use a credit card rather than a debit card. Credit cards offer more protection from fraud than debit cards, even if they have a Visa or Mastercard logo. Never wire money, use pre-paid gift cards, or payment apps with unknown online sellers. For more on how to safely shop online or use payment apps, view the webinars on our YouTube channel.
Gift cards offer recipients the option to choose something for themselves. But when buying gift cards, it's important to make sure they haven’t been tampered with. Criminals can steal the access codes and PIN and drain the funds you place on the cards before you have had a chance to give the gift.
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