The holiday season is a wonderful time of the year. Unfortunately, however, it can also be a dangerous time for consumers. Every year, crooks and scammers come out of the woodwork to take advantage of innocent people. Therefore, as the holidays approach, consumers should be on the lookout for scams designed to steal their personal information and money. Below are some common consumer fraud scams to be aware of and avoid during the holiday season.
Online Scams
Online scams tend to increase around the holidays. These scams offer consumers deals via phishing emails or advertisements. These types of schemes usually either offer brand-name merchandise at rock-bottom prices or free gift cards as an incentive to purchase. In addition, scammers sometimes offer brand-name products at low prices but fulfill customer orders with cheap knockoffs. In order to avoid these types of scams, consumers should steer clear of suspicious websites, advertisements, and unsolicited emails.
Gift Card Scams
Gift cards are an extremely popular gift during the holiday season. However, with the exception of gift cards that are purchased directly from reputable retailers or received from friends or family members, consumers should stay away from gift cards during the holidays. During the holidays, scammers trick consumers into buying them gift cards through the use of spoofed phone calls, texts, and emails. This results in consumers purchasing worthless gift cards from scammers under the false belief that they are dealing with friends, family members, and other people they know. Alternatively, the scammers can pose as legitimate sellers or re-sellers of gift cards, but will use your personal and/or financial information to your detriment.
Social Media Scams
During the holidays, consumers should beware of social media posts offering vouchers or gift cards. Often, these offers are marketed as holiday contests or promotions, but actually are scams designed to steal people’s personal information.
Charity Scams
Fraudulent charity scams are common during the holidays. With these types of scams, scammers establish false charities and solicit donations from people. Charity fraud, although common year-round, increases during the gift-giving sentiments of the holiday season. The authorities often have trouble combating seasonal charity scams due to their widespread reach, limited duration, and minimal oversight. Charity scam solicitations often reach consumers via phone, email, crowdfunding platforms, fake social media accounts, and fake websites. These types of scams are particularly egregious, as they take advantage of people’s good nature. Therefore, consumers should remain vigilant when it comes to holiday charities.
Contact Our Hackensack Consumer Fraud Attorney
If you are the victim of a holiday scam or other type of consumer fraud, you need an experienced Hackensack consumer fraud attorney on your side. At Rosenblatt Law PC, we are dedicated to protecting consumers and combating consumer fraud. When you choose us to handle your consumer fraud case, we’ll do everything in our power to ensure that you are compensated for your losses. So, if you’re ready to fight back against consumer fraud, contact us today to schedule a free initial consultation with one of our talented attorneys.
