JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — If you aren’t shopped out from Black Friday or Small Business Saturday, Monday is the best day to check out the items you have been putting in your Amazon cart all year.
What may catch your eye is the Cyber Monday deals on electronics and appliances, but you should also be paying attention to who you buy your potential presents from online. There's been a 25% increase year-over-year when it comes to the number of people who lost money to online shopping scams, according to Javelin Strategy & Research’s 2024 Identity Fraud Study.
Before you type in your card information, make sure the website you’re ordering from is legitimate. When doing your research, look at the comments on the products, the payment methods and compare the price of your item to other sites.
When on the website, make sure the business name is spelled correctly and that the URL begins with "HTTP-S" and not just "HTTP."
Karen Murillo with AARP says scammers are on the hunt for your money and credit card information and they can get either when you tap an ad you see on Facebook or TikTok.
“They pop up in your social media feed, and you may end up getting something in the mail in return for whatever you've purchased. Or you may end up getting something that's a knockoff; you may end up getting nothing,” Murillo explained.
Be on the lookout for texts or emails you didn't sign up for, be cautious about using public hotspots and keep an extra eye on your bank account this week.
According to a NordVPN survey, 17% of shoppers get scammed on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
“Scammers are going to showcase the lowest prices, sometimes unbelievable prices, sometimes just barely believable prices. They have that thing that's out of stock everywhere else, and they're advertising it. So they know how to capitalize on the trends of the market," Murillo said.
The scams don’t stop when Cyber Monday is over. With Travel Tuesday becoming a popular time to save money on your trips for next year, Murillo adds to be on the lookout for the same red flags when buying any tickets for traveling.