Scams to look for in this season
The most
beautiful time of the year - Christmas is soon to come especially for the
scamsters.
As the season of
giving (and spending) kicks off, keeping your guard up and eyes open to scams
is more important than ever.
Don’t let a
thieving “Scrooge” ruin your Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. Watch for
holiday-specific versions of these popular scams.
BY HARDIK GOEL | 2 Mins Read
ONLINE SCAM
Lookalike websites
is our first Christmas scam. It is anticipated that Christmas season will be
the year's largest online shopping day and set new records. Market analyst
estimates that this year's e-commerce revenues will top $9 billion. But rip off
websites that appear closer to the real thing try to trick you into typing in
your credit card number and other personal information. They also promote good
deals
Precaution:
You should always
check the website address before entering your personal information and scan
for any misspellings or grammatical errors on the website-this can be a red
flag
·
AUSPOST SCAM
Australia Post, is
the government-owned corporation that provides postal services in Australia.
Scammers are
taking advantage of the busy Christmas period by imitating Australia Post to
defraud consumers. Customers are warned to look out for text messages and
emails claiming to be from AusPost and asking for additional credit card
payments or redirecting to suspicious websites.
Through a practice
called ‘spoofing’, scammers can make it seem as though the real AusPost is
sending the messages. AusPost have reminded customers they will never request
personal information. However, AusPost have reminded customers they will never
request personal information.
Precaution:
The AusPost
advised “The best thing to do is, if you get a message about a missed parcel,
look up the phone number for the courier company or local Australia Post and
give them a call.”