TAMPA, Fla. — With Christmas just days away now, scammers are working harder to take advantage of you.
“It’s a little more ramped up, I think than it has been in the past,” said Eric Olsen, manager of Hillsborough County Consumer Protection Services.
Experts told ABC Action News that fraudsters know you’re trying to get everything done before Christmas.
“There’s a lot going on, a lot to take care of, and these scammers use that to their advantage,” said Olsen.
Holiday shopping scams, scams of all kinds, and fraud are growing.
“It’s more than tripled in five years, the total volume of fraud, identity theft and other forms of scams or abuses of information,” said John Gilmore, head of research for DeleteMe.
It’s particularly worrisome right now for people who are doing last-minute online holiday shopping.
Experts want you to make sure the website you’re using is legitimate before sharing your personal information.
“Scammers are using the padlock encryption technology that we used to look for, the https. They are able to use that technology to fool us into thinking it’s a legitimate website,” said Olsen.
Another thing to watch out for this time of year is shipping scams.
“There’s like multiple versions of it. It’s, 'We can’t deliver this item that’s being shipped. We need more information,' meaning we’ve got to correct your address, or we need to confirm the last four of your social. Where it’s either an information solicitation or they’ll say, 'We have this in the warehouse. We need money to get it to the last mile to either you or the recipient,'" said Gilmore.
You should also be aware of any random “flash sale” emails and gift card scams.
“If someone says you should send them cash in a gift card or even if you should send them money before you’ve received your product, those are two of the most common red flags to watch out for,” said Olsen.
Overall, everyone needs to be on the lookout because fraudsters have gotten much better at tricking people.
“What the really big piece of news that people need to understand is that the world we live in today post-pandemic has a level of online fraud abuse scams that is multiples higher even in recent memory,” said Gilmore.
Other ways to protect yourself include using a card masking service.
“When you do online transactions, and you need to do a transaction with a vendor you are not familiar with, you can use services like IronVest," Gilmore said. "What you do is you put your card information in with them, and it creates a one-time card. So you can do a transaction with that vendor, and they keep none of your payment information."
Officials also recommend people use password managers.
If you do become a victim of a scam, be sure to file a police report if any of your money is stolen. If there’s been a data breach, report it to the federal authorities.
Olsen said they're always available for questions. Their local consumer protection office can be reached at 813-635-8316.
