BBB of Central and Eastern KY warns against holiday shopping scams
LEXINGTON, Ky (WTVQ)- Holiday shopping season is in full swing and that means shoppers will be looking for the best deals both in store and online.
That also means scammers are on the prowl.
That’s why the Better Business Bureau of Central and Eastern Kentucky is warning you to be extra cautious this holiday shopping season.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the years’ biggest shopping days, making it prime time for scammers to take advantage.
“As far as Cyber Monday is concerned, a lot of folks are sitting there with their devices ready to jump on those Cyber Monday deals. However, be sure you are on a legitimate site. Our BBB scam tracker is already receiving reports from folks who got on websites they thought were the real deal, but it isn’t. Its using a fake name. It doesn’t give an address. It turns out the company is overseas. You’re not going to get your item. You’re not going to get your money back,” says Heather Clary, Spokesperson for the BBB.
Clary says its important for you to be extra cautious while shopping online.
“People will get online, google what they’re looking for and the first site that pops up, they’ll click on it. It may not be necessarily the best site to get on,” says Clary.
Clary says it’s important to use a credit card, if possible.
“Try using a credit card for those purchases. I know folks say they don’t wanna run up that credit card bill. You certainly don’t. However, usually you have some extra protections in place from your provider where you can dispute a charge if something goes wrong,” says Clary.
If you’re shopping at a store, Clary says it’s important to read all of the policies for coupons and refunds. She says if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
“Folks may not realize when it comes to refunds and exchange policies, stores can set those, stores have a right to set what that is. So kind of watch the calendar when you do purchase gifts, in case that person who receives it needs to returns it,” says Clary.
The holiday shopping season also marks the season of giving. Clary says you should find out as much as you can about a charity before giving them your money.
“It is the season of giving, and people are often asked to donate to causes that are trying to raise money for the less fortunate or for various causes out there, you do want to vet those before you donate. Especially if these are flying out on social media. You aren’t familiar with the organization. You’re going to want to find out how your donation is going to help, how much of it going to the actual program and how much is going to overhead. Do you know what area this charity serves,” says Clary.
The BBB has vetted charities that are safe to donate to on its website. You can find more information here.
