Last year, we blogged about how the holidays may be, as the song goes, the hap-, hap-, happiest time of the year, but they can also be the scam, scam, scam-iest time of the year.
And let’s face it: nobody wants to wake up to the scam Grinch on Christmas morning.
Take a look at last year’s blog to re-read the tips we shared, but here are a few high-level reminders: protect your information by using trusted websites, staying off public Wi-Fi, and staying on high alert for phishing, smishing, and vishing.
In this blog, we want to take a deeper look at a few tips:
Use a credit card when shopping online. AARP reports that 35 percent of U.S. adults report being fraud victims from purchases made through an ad they saw on social media. Using a credit card offer more consumer protections than using a debit card and especially than peer-to-peer payments. (This is a good time to remind you that if you’re using Zelle® through the Avadian’s online and mobile banking, you should only send money to people you actually know.)
Shipping notices. If you’ve ever received one of those texts that said a shipping company is unable to deliver a package you weren’t expecting, you’ve been targeted by smishing. Don’t click on links in texts about shipping problems. If your package doesn’t arrive when you expect it to, check with the seller to track the item. Unless you’ve signed up for notifications, you won’t receive texts from UPS, FedEx, or the U.S. Postal Service.
“Fraudulent activity” warnings. We’ve talked about this a lot, but a common tactic for scammers is to text, email, or call and tell you that there are fraudulent transactions on your account. The two most important takeaways are these: (1) Never click on links in messages claiming there is fraud on your account and (2) if someone calls claiming there is fraud on your account, do not give them your card PIN or online banking username and password. (If we do call you because there’s fraud on your account, we will not ask for that information.)
Fake charities. Scammers will use your own kindness against you by soliciting alleged charitable donations. But they’ll use a fake URL (website address) that includes a hard-to-notice misspelling or a slight name change to make you think it’s the real thing. And then, instead of making a donation to your favorite charity, your money winds up in the wrong hands.
We recently introduced our Fraud Prevention Hub. It’s a great resource for common scams and tips on learning to identify fraud attempts and what to do to if you think you’ve become a victim of fraud.
Equal Housing Opportunity Lender