ST. LOUIS — Holiday shoppers are heading online to check items off their lists, but before you click on an enticing social media ad or whip out your credit card, there may be some ways to stay away from scammers. 

What You Need To Know

  • Kathy Stokes, director of Fraud Prevention Programs at AARP Fraud Watch Network, advises consumers to avoid purchasing products from social media ads as 38% of U.S. adults have reported being scammed by them in a recent AARP Fraud Watch Network survey

  • The survey also states that 53% of people have received a fraudulent text message or notification claiming to be from USPS, FedEx or UPS about a shipment issue. The text message lures people to click on a harmful link and insert their credit card information

  • Another safety tip when making a purchase is to use apps such as Apple Pay or Google Pay because a person’s credit card information is encrypted during a transaction, according to Stokes

  • AARP Crime Watch Network survey states 35% of people say they received a suspicious charitable donation request. Stokes said criminals are taking advantage by pretending to be a certain charity through phone calls, texts, emails and online ads.

In 2022, reported fraud losses topped $9 billion nationwide and trends for this year indicate losses will be higher, according to AARP. 

Social Media Ads

Kathy Stokes, director of Fraud Prevention Programs at AARP Fraud Watch Network, advises consumers to avoid purchasing products from social media ads as 38% of U.S. adults have reported being scammed by them in a recent AARP Fraud Watch Network survey.

“They make the purchase, the product never comes, or it’s an inferior product,” she said. “That’s more than a third of people who have experienced that, so I’d say maybe that’s not the greatest way to find the gift this year that you’re looking for.”

Communication Scams

The survey also states that 53% of people have received a fraudulent text message or notification claiming to be from USPS, FedEx or UPS about a shipment issue. The text message lures people to click on a harmful link and insert their credit card information.

“You can go to a link that looks like it’s FedEx and it’s an entirely fabricated page,” Stokes said. “And just by visiting it, it’s downloading malicious software on your device to try to hack into all of your accounts.”  

With the number of people receiving those scams have doubled, Stokes urges not to click on those links.

“The sad truth right now is, we really can’t trust a lot of incoming communications,” she said.

“We’ve known for years that we shouldn’t answer our phone unless we absolutely know who’s calling, but now, we can’t trust emails with links in them, we can’t trust text messages with links on them. We shouldn’t trust ads online where we link to something.”

If people do receive an email or text message with a link that appears to be from one’s bank, Stokes suggests separately logging into their account to verify or call a customer service number.

“There’s been an explosion of bank imposture scams by text and people are getting completely wiped out,” she said.

Criminals are becoming more and more sophisticated with technology easier to navigate.

“We’re now seeing the use of a new form of artificial intelligence that’s making these scams harder to spot,” Stokes said. “This isn’t just some guy in his mom’s basement; this is a sophisticated, criminal, transnational enterprise, and they’ve got the money to research the best way to do it.”

She mentioned that scammers have a playbook that says how to get people to believe something that is not true in order to access their money or sensitive information.

Virtual Wallets

When shopping online, some credit card companies offer customers a virtual account number instead of their full credit card information. Stokes said that is a safer way to make a purchase because the virtual account number is encrypted in a different way, and it is not associated with one’s credit card information.

Another safety tip when making a purchase is to use apps such as Apple Pay or Google Pay because a person’s credit card information is encrypted during a transaction, according to Stokes.

She additionally advises not using apps such as Venmo, Cash App and Zelle to make online transactions because they do not have the same consumer protections as credit cards companies. However, exchanging money using those apps between friends and family is safe.

Charity Scams

The holiday season also is a time for donating to charities. AARP Crime Watch Network survey states 35% of people say they received a suspicious charitable donation request. Stokes said criminals are taking advantage by pretending to be a certain charity through phone calls, texts, emails and online ads.

“Make your list of who you want to support and stick to it,” Stokes said. “If you’ve come across a request and you think it sounds like something you would want to support, before you send a dollar, you want to research it.”

To learn about charities, Stokes said people can go to Give.org, which is backed by the Better Business Bureau and charitynavigator.org.

“All of these resources out there help you look it up to make sure it even exists and if it exists, you can read about how they’re using that money,” she said. “You don’t want to give money to a cause when 90% of what they bring in is going to be overhead and fundraising.”

For more information on AARP Crime Watch Network survey and holiday scams, click here. AARP also offers a victim support program helpline open to the public, which they can call 877-908-3360.