Online Shopping – scammers uses phishing emails or advertisement to offer deals

Social Media – scammers provide holiday gift cards, vouchers, promotions by filling out surveys to gather your personal information through social media

Gift Cards – scammers will send out spoofed email, call or text asking to purchase multiple gift cards for either personal or business reasons.

Charity – scammers create fake charities asking people to donate to a legitimate group profiting off the contributions.

Smartphone Apps – scammers generate a new free game mobile app that steals your personal information.

Beneficial TIPS to avoid being a victim:

• Secure a strong password with all your financial accounts, before shopping online. Utilize various password for each financial account.
• Do not click on skeptical email attachment, websites, social media or links, especially when it request for a password or financial information. This can cause malware/virus to be download to your device
• If you receive a request from a company to update or change your password or account information, please contact the company directly using their official website or phone number.
• Beware of purchases or services that have you use gift card as payment.
• Use credit card versus debit card when making a purchase and routinely monitor your credit card statements.
• Donate money directly to the charity organization  and beware or copycat charities with similar names
• When purchasing items online, make sure you get a tracking number for your purchases so you can track the delivery process. Track your order through your original confirmation  email.

Actions taken if you are a victim:

If you become a victim of a holiday scam, contact your financial institution and report any suspicious activities or fraudulent transfer.

Please report or contact the FBI at IC3.gov or the San Francisco FBI field office at 415-553-7400.

Thank you for reading and we hope you find this information helpful. Please comment below. We love to hear from you.