Love online shopping? Listen to this one-minute podcast for a few ways to save money, from sale alerts to coupon apps.
5 clever tricks holiday scammers use
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JD in Dallas emailed me with a story. He and his wife were at the mall and stopped for a Christmas selfie. Two young men walking by offered to take the pic for them — and one kept wiping the phone’s lens inside his jacket.
“It seemed like too big of a production and felt suspicious. Am I overreacting?”
JD, you learned a valuable lesson: Never hand your unlocked phone to a stranger. They were most likely trying to send themselves money. Have your wife check her financial accounts for any strange transactions.
The holiday shopping frenzy is here, and most tricks are digital. It’s easy to let your guard down when you’re in a rush. I’ve got a list of the most devious scams you need to watch, brought to you by my antivirus pick, TotalAV.
Don’t fall for this junk
📦 Fake order confirmations: These are everywhere. The message is some variation of “Your package couldn’t be delivered!” Click the link to reschedule delivery and you’ll land on a fake site that asks for personal details like your address or credit card info.
🎁 Bogus giveaways: “Win $1,000!” Just fill out a quick form and you’re in! And you’ve just handed over your email, phone number and other details to who-knows-who. Only enter giveaways from companies and people you trust (like me!).
🔍 Search engine traps: You search for a store’s site or return policy and land on a scammy duplicate designed to steal your login info. Always type in the web address directly if you know it; otherwise, scroll past sponsored results, which are easier to hack.
💳 Skimmed checkout pages: Everything looks normal, but hidden behind the scenes, a skimmer on the site steals your credit card details.
🤖 Bogus CAPTCHA forms: You know the drill: Prove you’re human by checking “I’m not a robot.” But what happens next is the trap. Instead of moving forward, you’re asked to download a file for “instructions.” Spoiler alert: That “instruction” file installs malware on your device.
Kim’s holiday safety checklist
These scams are tricky, but you can outsmart the bad guys.
How to find and stop hidden fees
When I’m booking air travel, it seems like the price goes up with every click. By the time I pay to check a bag or two, that “great deal” isn’t looking so, well, great.
So of course airlines are fighting the Biden administration’s “junk fees’” rule, which would make them show their fees upfront for checking bags, carrying on a bag, and changing or canceling a reservation.
🧑💻 Online shopping scam: A dad thought he scored a 20TB hard drive for $51 (these are normally around $300) from a flaky site called “Chicntech.” Spoiler: It didn’t work. His son cracked it open and found glued-in metal weights and a chip faking the storage size.
How to deal with a cyberstalker
Let me tell you, more and more victims of cyberstalking are reaching out to me for advice using my Ask Kim page. Here’s one note I received recently from P.W. in Oklahoma:
“I’ve been cyberstalked for three years. I recently discovered it was my roommate. I moved out and he launched another attack. He’s on my and my fiance’s phones, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth — everything. He has stolen financial data, pictures, erased accounts, taken over emails and harassed me through VOIP. … He admitted to sitting outside our house all night. I thought he was spying on me. Now I know he was also gaining access to my Wi-Fi. I can’t do this anymore and need expert advice/help terribly.”
Amazon-made cheaper versions of all these popular products
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You can buy anything on Amazon, from kitchen supplies and electronics to clothes and even tiny homes. Just make sure you never buy these items from Amazon. One way to spend less online shopping is to buy Amazon versions of popular products.
5 things you should STOP paying for in 2023
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Money is tight, especially considering all you have to pay for.
You don’t get to opt out of rent, food and other bills, but you can save some money with a few clever tricks. Here are proven ways to lower your internet, streaming and cable bills.
3 great ways to shop and save money
Love online shopping? Listen to this one-minute podcast for a few ways to save money, from sale alerts to coupon apps.
Holiday shipping deadlines: Check this list now so you don't miss the cutoffs
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It might seem hard to believe, but we’re less than three weeks away from Christmas. Need a little help finding the perfect gift for people on your list? Tap or click here for non-tech gifts for the person who has everything.
Money-saving tool you need before you start holiday shopping
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Have you ever had the strange feeling of being watched when you’re browsing online? Well, the truth is you are. Shopping sites track you.
In some cases, you may see prices for certain things go up every time you check. A rental car might be $50 per day the first time you check prices, but it bumps up to $55 when you go back to book it. The same thing happens with hotels and airline tickets.
15 Amazon bestsellers you should grab before they sell out
Amazon
Have you started your holiday shopping yet? If not, you should get a move on. People are flocking to Amazon’s early sales, and all of the online retailer’s best-sellers are going fast.
Amazon won’t be able to keep all of its popular gadgets in stock until the end of the year, so you’d better get wish lists from friends and family now.
Don't make this big mistake e-commerce companies often make
It’s a great time to sell online. Last year, many people didn’t want to venture out of their homes to shop at physical stores. That’s why they used online stores to get their essentials.
Statista studies found over 2 billion people bought goods or services online in 2020. Not only that, but sellers made 4.2 trillion U.S. dollars in e-retail sales worldwide. Good news: The online shopping gold rush is nowhere near stopping.
15 Amazon deals for your Presidents Day weekend shopping
All of us are doing at least some online shopping right now. Whether it’s for basic household cleaning supplies or new tech gadgets, the easiest way to get what you need is by ordering it on the web.
But while there are deals to be found online, the prices aren’t always as low as brick and mortar stores. If you aren’t careful, your online shopping could end up costing you more than it would in stores. These 10 must-have products under $10 are a good place to start.
Save money with this handy online shopping-comparison tool
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Most of us have been regular online shoppers for years now. But since the pandemic began it’s really picked up and has become an important way to get the everyday staples that we need safely.
We’re not just ordering frivolous items on a whim when we’re bored anymore. Now we’re shopping online for everything from hand sanitizer to household cleaning supplies. Many have even started grocery shopping online. Tap or click here to find the best way to order groceries online.
Amazon may be coming to a mall near you
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The entire world has shifted from brick-and-mortar shopping trips to buying from online retail sites in response to COVID-19. Purchases that used to require a quick trip to your local big-box retailer for things like toilet scrubbers or Ziploc bags are now done via e-commerce sites with the click of a couple of buttons. Looking for online shopping deals? Check out what’s on sale for August that you should buy now.
5 critical reasons you need VPN protection
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Do you consider yourself a privacy-conscious person? Are you concerned about your online safety? Well, you’re certainly not alone. The hard truth is by surfing the web or making any transactions online while connected to a network that’s not secure, you’re exposing private info and buying habits for anyone to see.
20 ways to get more out of your Amazon account
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It’s impossible to deny Amazon has changed the way we shop and do business online. Since 2004, Amazon has grown from $6.92 billion in sales to more than $280 billion. On top of that, there are now an estimated 105 million Amazon Prime members.