GREENSBORO, N.C. — What trendy item from last Christmas prompted scammers to make fake ads and websites hoping to get your money? The Stanley Cup of course! Everyone was trying to get their hands on one, specific color, and for cheaper, and of course, the scammers knew it.
According to the Better Business Bureau scam tracker and online shopping reports. Fraud rose 125% due to trendy items, beauty products, and expensive sneakers. Four out of 10 scams online, of all scams, were online shopping-related
"And here's my fear. This year, with the economy the way it is, with how we're feeling about our pocketbooks, scammers, they are just loading up and waiting to shoot out these ads on social media," said Lechelle Yates, Better Business Bureau.
The fake ads take you to fake web pages, but the web pages are so good that they look like the real thing. Often the scammers steal the pictures from real websites.
How do you spot the scam? We can't stop the scammers, what we can do is take steps to protect our money.
#1 Look for contact information
"You want to look out for no contact information, no street address. The only thing you're going to find is an email address. That doesn't do you any good if you're trying to track down the company if you have an issue."
#2 Jump out of social media
When you spot a deal you like, jump out of social media and go online. Google the company name. if it's a bad business or product people will be talking about it.
#3 If the deal is too good to be true...
Then it probably is. There's a reason that old saying stands the test of time!
