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.
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.
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.
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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.