How To Avoid Being Scammed This Holiday Season

The season for giving is also the season for scamming. How can you make sure you don’t fall victim to any common scams this holiday season?

Online shopping has made all of our lives easier, including scammers. When you are shopping for gifts and gift cards online make sure you are on the lookout for common scams. Before you spend any money make sure you are shopping on a reputable website. Before you click links in any email make sure to check the sender’s email address so you don’t fall for a phishing scam.

Here are a few other ways you can protect yourself from scammers this holiday season...

Research Charities Before Donating

The holiday season is the biggest time for charitable giving. If you are considering donating to charity either as a good deed or as a gift to someone be sure to make sure they will use your money for what they say they will. Utilize a great tool like Charity Watch to ensure that you are giving money to a reputable charity.

There are a lot of charities out there that sound great but end up using the majority of donated money to fund their own activities with only a small amount actually going to help anyone.

Use Your Credit Cards

If you are shopping online you should be using your credit card. This may seem like an easy way to rack up debt but credit cards have protections that debit cards and other payment methods simply do not have.

The Fair Credit Billing Act ensures that your purchases have protection. If your information is taken or if you never receive a purchase you can dispute the charge and won’t be out hundreds or thousands of dollars. Debit cards do not have this level of protection and deduct the money from your account automatically.

Purchase Gift Cards With Caution

If you want to give someone a gift card be sure you are purchasing it from a reputable source. During the holiday season websites pop up with gift cards at deep discounts that may seem like a great deal but are often a way to scam people out of money and credit card information.

Your best bet is to get a gift card directly from the retailer or a trusted seller.

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