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CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The holiday shopping season means scams may be on the rise and AARP’s Fraud Watch Network helpline is looking to help.
According to AARP West Virginia, nearly 8,000 people call AARP’s Fraud Watch Network helpline every month to report suspected scams, and a newly released AARP Fraud Watch Network Survey shows that calls related to holiday scams may be on the upswing soon.
“The holiday season is a time for togetherness, celebration, and giving,” said AARP West Virginia State Director Gaylene Miller in a release. “Unfortunately, the gift-giving process, from purchasing the perfect gift to making sure it gets to the recipient, also brings a plethora of opportunities for scammers to enrich themselves.”
Scammers deploy several tactics to steal during the holidays, ranging from online shopping scams, to scams involving the draining of gift cards, to package and shipping scams, a release stated. The AARP study found that many consumers may be opening themselves up to risk as they shop this holiday season.
“We tend to want to click on those good deals that we see pop up on our social media feeds. We urge consumers to not do that, be careful on what you click on. If it’s a deep discount, anything greater than a 55 percent discount, then more than likely it’s a scam,” Tom Hunter with AARP West Virginia told MetroNews.