Avoid online scams this Cyber Monday to finish your holiday shopping fraud-free

Minnesota shoppers who have thawed out from a chilly Black Friday can now turn their full attention to the next big retail event: Cyber Monday.

Finishing your holiday shopping online might be convenient, so long as you avoid any scams or fraud. The National Retail Federation forecast the average American will spend $902 on holiday shopping this year, with a majority of people turning to online shopping. Falling victim to a fake website or having your credit card information stolen, though, could quickly inflate that total.

For Americans under 70 years old, online shopping is the most common instance of fraud, according to Federal Trade Commission data. Americans across all age categories lost hundreds of millions of dollars to online shopping scams in 2023. These statistics actually undercount the true amount of fraud, said John Breyault, a fraud expert at the National Consumers League.

“Everyone is at risk for fraud,” Breyault said. “And it pays to educate yourself about fraud, so you don’t become a victim, regardless of how smart you think you are, how tech-savvy you are.”

This is the time of year life is hectic, so “don’t let your guard down,” said Anna Dosen, U.S. Bank branch banking market leader for Minnesota and North Dakota. Here are some tips to keep your money safe while completing your holiday shopping.

With deals aplenty, online shopping encourages bargain-hunting. But shoppers have to be aware of the discounts that really are too good to be true.

“If you’re seeing merchandise that the price is significantly below what it costs elsewhere ... that should be a red flag,” Breyault said.

Many of these deals might also be for a limited time. Scammers love to create a sense of urgency because it can spur people to act before they take time to do their research, Breyault said.

“If it’s a good deal today, it should be a good deal tomorrow,” he said.

Listings like these might also show up near the top of search results. But that doesn’t mean they are the best. Scammers can pay their way to the top of Google’s sponsored results to give these pages a sense of legitimacy.

Scams will often ask consumers to pay through means that make money harder to return, according to the FTC. This might include a payment app like Venmo, cryptocurrency or wire transfers. Fake websites might also ask for sensitive information, such as bank account and Social Security numbers.

If a website requires an unusual payment, “run away from that transaction,” Breyault said.

Every year like clockwork, retailers send out emails and text messages en masse to advertise monthlong holiday shopping deals.

With a surge of marketing and online ordering, scammers try to slip in imposter communications. Phishing, the act of posing as another company or website to harvest information from consumers, can take many forms, from emails to fake websites.

A common giveaway is the URL or web address. A fake website might use a URL that resembles a real retailer but with slight differences in the presentation or spelling.

The start of most reputable web addresses, Breyault said, begins with “https://” with the “s” standing for secure. The web browser will also usually display a padlock to the left of the web address. If this “s” or padlock is missing, the website might not be trustworthy. But the presence of this padlock also does not necessarily mean the website is safe.

If consumers are unsure about a website URL or are buying from a new site for the first time, Breyault recommends trying to look up the site URL along with the word “scam” to see if others experienced any problems with that specific website. You can also use resources like the Better Business Bureau to see if other consumers have filed complaints about it.

Scammers will also call or text from unknown numbers, sometimes even with local area codes, Dosen said. It is important to only use numbers posted on official websites or the back of a credit card, “not something that may be texted to you,” Dosen said.

Be wary if one of these numbers calls you posing as your bank or a major e-retailer like Amazon and asks for your account information. The real entities wouldn’t solicit secure information like that on the phone.

Experts recommend shoppers pay using a credit card whenever shopping online. Many card issuers provide protections for customers against fraud or in cases where a product goes undelivered, a company charges a consumer twice or the product is defective. Credit limits also restrict the amount of money fraudsters can take, said Mary Faulkner, chief information security officer at Thrivent Financial.

Consumers will want to keep track of which card they are using for their online shopping, Faulkner said. Monitoring just one credit card’s purchases can be easier on consumers during the high-volume holiday shopping period.

For those who are not eligible for a credit card, Breyault still recommends using a debit card. But it is not without its risks.

Because a debit card links directly to your checking account, Breyault said, fraudsters could take money directly from your account. When you dispute a transaction, the bank will often place those funds on hold, whereas a credit card company typically returns the funds to the customer pending the investigation.

Consumers should ask their financial institutions about the fraud protections offered for their debit card, Faulkner said.

It’s also beneficial to practice good online hygiene, she said. Using strong passwords and setting up account alerts allows consumers to take action quickly to protect their accounts.

“I think working with your financial adviser first and foremost about setting a budget to make sure you stay within your budget constraint,” she said, “so that you don’t create more of that impulse of buying ... is really important.”

On sites where third parties can sell directly to consumers, shoppers might want to take caution.

Breyault receives many complaints about sites like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace, where scammers employ many of the same tactics to trick shoppers and sellers into giving up sensitive information, he said.

Millions of Americans will also shop on Walmart, Amazon and other trusted online retailers this holiday season, but some of their listings could be illegitimate.

Many retailers allow third parties to sell products on their websites as part of a marketplace, usually marked with words “sold by” the third-party seller. With relatively low barriers to entry, some sellers might sell fake products at low prices to trick consumers. Reading reviews of these third parties on some of their other listings can help you avoid making a risky purchase.

Many retailers have policies for inaccurate or fake listings. Amazon’s A-to-z guarantee, Walmart’s Marketplace Guarantee and eBay’s Money-Back Guarantee all have provisions for third parties failing to deliver items or delivering a different product than expected.

Even if you made a completely legitimate online purchase, mail theft could cause you trouble at the last step of the online-shopping process.

When the stacks of packages atop porches grow taller, houses become potential targets for porch pirates. About 1 in 5 Americans have experienced a theft of a package containing a gift, according to a survey by Security.org. A 2018 study from Shorr Packaging Corp. found Minneapolis ranked third in the country for the number of searches per person for “Amazon package stolen.”

As online shopping has grown, so too have the safeguards to protect your packages. Amazon offers several pickup locations called Amazon Lockers, and brick-and-mortar stores often allow you to ship items to a local store location for pickup. Some couriers also offer hold packages for pickup.

First and foremost, Breyault says to not blame yourself. Fraud is a growing problem, affecting millions of people each year.

“Scammers thrive on the stigma that we’ve created around fraud in this country,” he continued. “We use words like, ‘You fell for a scam,’ ‘You got duped,’ ‘I can’t believe I was so stupid.’ ... And the scammers rely on that. That’s one reason why they get away with it.”

Report the fraud to your bank or financial institution quickly, Dosen said. Even if businesses are closed, most have 24/7 customer or card member services lines consumers can call and take immediate action to protect their accounts.

“The faster you can stop it, it’s just going to help everybody and everything, most importantly, yourself,” she added.

After taking action to protect your account, Breyault recommended consumers report the fraud to the FTC, state attorney general or local law enforcement. Consumers might also report fraud to fraud.org, a National Consumers League website that shares complaints with partners in law enforcement and consumer protection.

“It’s how we build cases,” Breyault said, “to hopefully put some of these criminals behind bars.”

Caleb Fravel is a University of Minnesota student reporter on assignment for the Minnesota Star Tribune.