PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — With the holiday shopping season just around the corner, ’tis the season for scams.
There are several ways scheming crooks go about scamming people out of their hard-earned money. The most popular of these are imposter scams.
“That can include a romantic interest, where they get on the dating sites and they build a relationship and pretend to be a friend or more. They can be posing as an established company like Amazon, or posing as a government agency,” said John Miller Steiger, director of the east central region of the Federal Trade Commission.
Steiger says if you’re doing holiday shopping online, use a credit card, because you’ll be protected.
“The bad guys know this, and so they don't want you to use a credit card. They're going to tell you to pay with cash or to pay with Bitcoin, or use gift cards as a way to pay,” he said.
The same goes for wiring money, according to authorities. Steiger says no legitimate company or charity will insist that you wire money. In just the first half of 2024, individuals reported losing over $1.3 billion to imposter scams. But sometimes, Steiger says, the scammers do get caught.
“We just passed a new impersonation rule that makes it easier for us to get money back to consumers when the bad guys violate that rule. We also work very closely with other law enforcement agencies.”
Steiger also urges people to watch out for deceptive emails, saying things like “There’s a problem with your package.” They often contain links that lead consumers directly into trouble.
“Don’t just click on a link. Don't open up an attachment in an email or a text, no matter how scary they make it seem. They're going to say, ‘You're about to lose this gift, this package, if you don't click here,’” Steiger said.
He says it's better to go directly to the company's website with any concerns over purchases. If you think you’re a victim of a scam, file a report with the FTC.