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Watch out for these Amazon scams during your holiday shopping
The holiday season is prime time for scammers. People are in a rush, looking for deals and trying to find exactly what they want, which leads to careless decisions.
Christmas lights are already going up, and you can hear holiday tunes everywhere. If you want to shop for decorations online, be careful! Scammers are out in full force with fake ads and shoddy merchandise. Tap or click here for holiday decoration scams to watch out for.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are big for shoppers and, surprise, surprise, enormous opportunities for crooks. One major scam involves fake online storefronts. Read on for details and how to stay safe.
The holiday rush
Are you looking for that perfect gift at the best price? So are countless others — and scammers know this. While 40% off may be a good deal, what’s the deal with 80% off? It can’t be true, can it?
AutoGuide and RedFlagDeals uncovered a rash of scams on Amazon involving last-minute sellers popping up with excellent deals during the holiday rush. The listings are for legitimate products, but the prices are so low that they should immediately raise suspicion.
Compounding all this are Amazon’s algorithms, which recommend products and sellers, pushing these fake stores and listings to consumers. The crooks can rake in big money before Amazon figures it out and drops a ban. And as soon as one disappears, another one pops up.
How the grift works
Scammers list popular products made by well-known brands. They set the prices very low and create fake positive reviews. They’ll also list hundreds of other items to add legitimacy, which won’t be so heavily discounted. This is another tactic to throw you off.
If you purchase something, you’ll get phony tracking details and order numbers to stall you before you realize something is wrong and file a complaint. You’ll also be delayed by the one-week free shipping time.
Ultimately, you either get the wrong product, a knockoff, a damaged item, or nothing. And since the seller will be gone by then, you can’t request a refund or support.
It’s hard to single out these sellers, as they usually only last a few hours. So how can you spot the scams?
75% of American shoppers have an Amazon Prime membership
That was 180 million Americans last month, up 8% over last year. Let’s do some math. At $15 per month, that’s $2.7 billion in subscription revenue in a month! Incredible.
Peeping Tom caught in the act
Target shoppers saw him slip a phone under a woman’s dress (ew). Plus, get updates on the TikTok ban, dark web blackmail, and a major ground beef recall. We also talk with popular YouTuber Kitboga about taking on scammers by wasting their time.