(WXMI) — The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is urging consumers to be wary of shopping scams as retailers prepare to host major online sales.
We’re told many West Michiganders have fallen victim, especially when it comes to scams posted in ads on social media.
The BBB says more than $62,000 in losses were reported in the area so far this year.
“Scammers will pose as well-known retailers, tricking shoppers into shopping on a fake website, instead of the real one,” says BBB Serving West Michigan President & CEO Lisa Frohnapfel. “Consumers should avoid clicking on any links sent by email, text or on social media, and make sure they are on the right website before giving out payment information or passwords.”
Protect yourself from scams by doing the following:
- Beware of social media advertisements for deals that sound too good to be true.
- Don’t click on links sent to you in emails, texts or advertisements. Visit websites by searching for them in your browser instead.
- Ensure the website you’re using is secure, indicated by “https” in the URL. Watch out for websites with extra characters listed before “.com.”
- Only log in to websites that contain a lock symbol beside the URL.
- Shop on websites you know and trust. Even scammers can implement the above two points.
- Keep an eye out for typos and grammatical errors. Messages containing these errors are likely fraudulent.
- Shop with a credit card. It is much easier to dispute charges with credit cards than debit cards.
If you do fall victim to a scam, file a claim with the Federal Trade Commission and change your password.
"You got to change that password," says Community Relations Manager Katie Grevious. "And if you use that password on any other sites, change it as well."
File a report if you believe you were scammed.
"Then we work with the FTC, the FBI, the attorney general's office to track down those IP addresses and find those criminals and help shut those websites down so other people don't fall victim as well," adds Grevious.
Visit the BBB’s website for more safety tips.
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