Think your holiday shopping list is the only thing growing this season? Think again.
Scammers are working overtime, turning the rush for gifts and deliveries into a goldmine of fraud. From fake shipping alerts to too-good-to-be-true deals, criminals are using the chaos of the season to steal your money and personal information.
Fraudsters use the chaos of package deliveries as a ruse to steal your information and money. We call that a non-delivery scam. It’s big business for criminals.
According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, non-delivery related scams cost American consumers $785 million last year. Credit card fraud accounts for nearly $200 million more in losses.
“From fake websites and ‘too good to be true’ offers to porch pirates, fraud and theft during the holiday season will peak over the next few weeks,” said Jeff Taylor, head of Commercial Fraud Forensics at Regions Bank. “Fraudsters will continue to use these tactics, so it pays for everyone to be fraud aware.”
According to the FBI, non-delivery scams use the confusion of the season to take advantage. Some examples to look out for:
- Unsolicited messages – you might receive texts, emails, or social media messages about a problem with a delivery or an account. Don’t remember the order? That’s the point.
- Urgency – to resolve this, you must act immediately.
- Suspicious links – fraudsters may send links in texts or emails that lead to bogus websites. The intention is to get you to provide personal information.
- Prices too good to be true – the perfect Christmas gift is available for a price you never imagined!
- Funky websites – they’ll send you somewhere, then your radar goes off immediately due to bad spelling, grammar, or typos. Trust your gut.
7 FBI tips to protect you from non-delivery scams
- Don’t click any suspicious links or attachments in emails, on websites or on social media.
- Be wary if a company asks you to update your password or account information.
- Check each website’s URL to make sure it’s legitimate and secure. Web addresses should begin with “https://” and include a locked padlock icon.
- Inspect gift cards before purchasing. Check for signs of tampering.
- Be wary of any online transactions that use wire transfers, virtual currency, gift cards, or cash as payment options.
- Be wary if something asks for payment with pre-paid gift cards. Never wire money directly to a seller.
- Always get tracking numbers for items you buy online.
“Stay alert!” said Kimberly Reece, Financial Crimes Customer Advocacy Manager for Regions. “Protecting yourself from non-delivery scams starts with skepticism and smart checks. Don’t click on unverified links and remember that if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
If you think you are a victim of a non-delivery scam, report it immediately to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (ic3.gov).
