Holiday shopping is upon us. Those looking for a little retail therapy, might also find themselves becoming victims of fraud. Here are the top holiday shopping scams you need to watch out for. Avoid These Holiday Shopping Scams Online Shopping Scams Spoofing and automatic dialing technology makes it easy for stimulus scammers to imitate any … Continued
Reports of stimulus payment-related fraud have sharply increased following the passage of the second stimulus package. Given the drawn-out pandemic, coupled with an enormous amount of uncertainty, individuals may be susceptible to fraud.
Since January 2020, Americans have lost almost $300 million to COVID-19 and stimulus payments-related fraud, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The agency also received over 316,000 complaints with the median fraud loss at just over $300.
Cybersecurity reports paint a dreadful end-of-the year picture for 2020: one filled with some typical holiday cybercrime traditions — phishing and digital scams — that threaten payment mechanisms. Except this year, holiday fraud has been magnified by a global pandemic.
Last year, Americans spent about $730 billion on holiday purchases, according to the National Retail Federation. Online and other remote sales amounted to over $167 billion, or about 23% of the total retail sales. This year, social distancing and home quarantines created a new digital shopping dynamic. Digital Commerce 360 estimated the pandemic will lead to an additional $40 billion in online holiday revenue in 2020, and for the first time ever, more than a quarter of holiday sales will occur online.
