How to avoid internet scams this holiday season - WJTV

JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – It’s the vacation season, which means much scammers are retired looking for their adjacent victims, particularly connected the internet.

Better Business Bureau (BBB) Serving Mississippi CEO John O’Hara shared what Mississippians should beryllium watching retired for.

“It’s the pop-up ads, archetypal of all. There are respective that I’ve already seen wherever radical person tried to bargain Christmas ornaments oregon Christmas decorations that you can’t find successful the store. People person reported that they thought they were getting these six-foot Christmas balls, but they were six-inch Christmas balls. They paid $119 for 3 Christmas balls astir this size, and they said it was an advertisement that they had got done connected Facebook. So, you privation to ticker links. You privation to ticker these large ads that travel out. There was 1 scam that was truly large present successful Mississippi past twelvemonth — puppy scams. That did travel done societal media wherever radical are posting pictures of puppies. You spot them each the time. They deliberation they’re buying a loved 1 a canine and they’re paying each this wealth and they person each these cute pictures. They support saying it’s a hold oregon you request to wage other wealth for insurance. What you’ll extremity up uncovering retired is it’s a fake website. They conscionable person grabbed pictures disconnected the internet,” helium explained.

He besides warned of societal media acquisition exchanges.

“I’m laughing due to the fact that we did person some. Actually, we had immoderate teenage girls down successful Raleigh past twelvemonth that we contacted due to the fact that they started 1 of these acquisition exchanges. We reached retired to them, and they didn’t recognize that archetypal of all, they’re pyramid schemes, and they’re illegal. They commencement wherever it’s similar a Christmas histrion oregon you’re paying $10 and you’re going bargain a acquisition and arsenic galore radical arsenic you motion up. At the end, you’re expected to extremity up with $100 and past they motion up 10 people. What you truly extremity up with, is possibly losing immoderate adjacent friends erstwhile they didn’t get anything, and you were the 1 who really friended them to spell up and participate,” helium said.

O’Hara shared his tips for harmless vacation buying connected societal media.

“It’s a bully spot to possibly get immoderate information. But what you should bash is truly probe the companies you’re buying from. What you’ll spot successful a batch of cases is that these websites person been developed successful the past 2 oregon 3 months. Is it adjacent successful the United States? We person radical who are buying worldly and they don’t recognize it’s coming from accidental China and it’s going to instrumentality 2 oregon 3 months for it to get here. We person a batch of truly bully section businesses present successful Mississippi. People should prevention immoderate of their wealth to store there, but a batch of radical bash store online and there’s plentifulness of ways to bash it harmless and secure,” helium said.