AARP Scam Alert: Ho Ho ... hoax? Avoid scammers this holiday season

Finding and giving the perfect gift is part of the joy of the holiday season, but, too often, scammers look to steal that joy. A new AARP study shows that the entire gift-giving process, from purchase to delivery offers opportunities for scammers to take what is yours. AARP’s new survey on holiday scams found that 35% of U.S. adults have experienced fraud when buying a product through an online ad.

A scammer will offer incredible deals for all the items on your holiday shopping list. But clicking the link may take you to a convincing copy of a real retail website, or to an entirely made-up site -- enabling scammers to download malicious software to your device and thereby steal logins and passwords.

Remember, if it looks too good to be true, it usually is. Any discount of more than 55% is a red flag. If you’ve never heard of a company before, check it out. Type the company name into a web browser with the words “complaint, scam, fraud” and see if anything negative comes up. You’ll also want to look for spelling errors, unprofessional website design, limited contact options, or unusual web addresses. Avoid clicking on links even if the ad seems to be from a familiar retailer. Instead, go the web address you know to be the right one to avoid getting sent to a cloned site.

Once you safely order a gift, make sure it gets delivered. The AARP survey shows 25% of US adults have had a package stolen from outside their home, and 34% have received a fake notification about a shipment! Rather than have packages delivered to your front door, ask the shipper to hold your package until you are notified. Or, direct the carrier to place packages in a location that is hard to see from the road. Notifications received when you haven’t ordered anything and aren’t expecting a package are a big red flag. You should also be suspicious of demands for payment, or high-pressure or “urgent” messages, asking for personal information.

Vigilance can protect your holidays from scammers. If you think you have fallen victim to any type of scam, call the AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline at 877-908-3360 for guidance and support, or visit the AARP Fraud Watch Network at http://www.aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork.