What to look out for so you don’t fall victim to a scam on Cyber Monday

PITTSBURGH — Doing all of your holiday shopping online from the comfort of your own home is hard to resist. Sales, deep discounts and bargains are advertised by retailers online during Cyber Monday.

However, the Better Business Bureau says this convenient shopping tradition also allows scammers more opportunities to take advantage of online shoppers.

“For the past three years, online purchase scams have actually been the riskiest scam identified by the Better Business Bureau for consumers of all ages and demographics,” said Caitlin Driscoll of the BBB.

The BBB stresses to shoppers:

• Shop only with trustworthy sellers —- businesses you’re familiar with, on secure sites onl
• Watch out for false advertising —-often times social media or emails are used to initiate scams
• Beware of phony websites
• A red flag is misspelled words in URLs

“You need to make sure you’re shopping from a secure website. So look for that HTTPS with the S standing for secure. A green lock icon on your status browser toolbar as well. Just another way to show that that website is verified and secure,” Driscoll said.

The BBB has found nationally that online scams are happening more often and are up 33% from last year.

Now, is it better to shop with a debit card or credit card?

“You definitely want to pay with a credit card whenever possible because that is the safest method of payment, even more so than paying with a debit card, as your purchase is going to be protected under the Fair Credit Billing Act,” Driscoll said.

If you do fall victim to a scam, you are encouraged to report it to the Better Business Bureau by clicking here.

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