During the holiday season so many people get scammed from a variety of situations. I’m sharing tips for avoiding scams this holiday season. While we want to make sure we are enjoying the holiday season, we also need to be careful. These tips to avoid scammers is essential on keeping you safe!
6 Tips for Avoiding Scams This Holiday Season
The holidays are here, and that means crooks and criminals will be working extra hard to steal your hard earned cash. Scammers work overtime during the holiday season in hopes of making an easy buck, but that doesn’t mean you have to fall prey to their scams. By taking a few simple precautions, you can avoid being a victim. Look below at these 6 tips for avoiding scams this holiday season, so you can keep your money safe and leave scammers empty handed.
1. Wear a cross body purse when shopping. Thieves are out there looking for purses to snatch! When stores get busy, they like to peruse the aisles looking for purses in carts or purses hanging low off arms. These are easy to snatch and take off with before anyone notices. Instead, wear a cross body bag so you can shop hands free and your valuables are always close to your body.
2. Never leave gifts in your car. Hiding gifts under a blanket doesn’t work! Unless you can completely conceal gifts in a trunk, don’t store them in your car while shopping at other stores. Thieves may watch what you buy, follow you to your car, and see what items you are stashing. It only takes seconds to break into a car and take your items. If anyone offers to help you take items to your car, decline. This may be a thief’s way of scoping out the car and distracting you further.
3. Don’t place empty merchandise boxes out near the curb. This is like broadcasting your new purchases! After opening gifts, break down boxes and place them in a recycling bin. When you place whole merchandise boxes at the curb it shows would be thieves what items you now have in your house. This goes especially for large electronics and televisions. Break those boxes down.
4. Donate only to charities that are registered non-for profits.
So many “charities” show up during the holidays hoping to make a quick buck. Sadly, not all of these are reputable. Make sure you do your homework on any charities you decide to give money to. They should be a reputable non for profit and hold a 503 c certificate.
5. Never donate to charities by phone.If you receive any type of call asking you to make donations by phone, decline. It is never wise to give credit card information by phone and most reputable charities don’t collect money in this way. If you wish to make donations, do them in person and get a receipt for your donation.
6. Keep an eye on your credit card transactions and bank statements during the holidays. It is wise to check your banking information daily during the holiday season. This way you can keep an eye out for unusual transactions and notify the bank or card holder the moment you notice anything fishy. While online shopping is mostly safe, fraud does happen especially during the holidays. Always make sure the site you are shopping on uses secure checkout (it will be clearly labeled and the website will start with https) and keep copies of all your transactions.
As you can see, some simple steps are all it takes to protect yourself this holiday season. Consider these 6 tips for avoiding scams this holiday season, so you can enjoy the holidays and not spend it falling victim to one of the many scammers out there.
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