BBB tips to avoid getting scammed when holiday shopping online
Posted November 20, 2014 6:37 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Are you starting to check off your holiday wish lists?
It’s so much fun looking for that perfect present for family and friends, but it’s horrible when crooks take advantage of you at Christmas.
The News1130 Evening Show’s weekly series on scams is looking online, where many of us will be doing our shopping.
Seumas Gordon with the Better Business Bureau has two simple tips to help stay safe. “If the price is too good to be true, it’s probably is. What we also tell people is only use reputable sites that you’re familiar with.”
But there’s a new kind of scam making the rounds: gift card texts. That’s where a fake company texts you, saying you’ve won something and asks you to click on a link.
“Once they click on a link, they’ve signed up for $10 monthly texting package. It happens quite often,” warns Gordon.
“As soon as you see a gift card text, unsolicited — you weren’t expecting it — just delete them,” he adds.
Gordon says more people are shopping online these days — especially during this time of year — so too have the number of shady websites trying to rip you off.
Next week, we’ll take a look at how to pick a reputable moving company.
