GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Online discounts will be running rampant for Prime Day, which runs Monday and Tuesday.
You might be looking to buy from retailers like Amazon, Target, or even Kohl’s in competing sales this week. But you have to make sure you’re actually clicking through their sites.
“This is one of the big shopping events of the year. It rivals Black Friday and the holiday season in terms of volume,” said Susan Bach of the Better Business Bureau. “Scammers are going to try and take advantage by tricking you into shopping at a lookalike site or sending you a phishing email that appears to be from one of these big retailers.”
Be wary of phishing scams, misleading advertisements, and lookalike websites.
When you are making a lot of purchases, it’s easy to lose track of exactly what you bought and where you shopped. That makes you more likely to fall for a phishing scam posing as a big-name store.
“Any kind of unsolicited email, text, or phone call that claims to be a problem with your order or claims to be from one of these big retailers should definitely be independently verified,” Bach told WTAQ News.
These messages may claim you have a free gift waiting for you or that there is a problem with a delivery – all you need to do is click on a link or give up your personal information. One recent phishing con claims to be Amazon calling to fix an issue with your account. This is a ruse meant to get your credit card information, account login details, or remote access to your computer.
Beware of false advertising and phony websites as well. When searching online or browsing social media, watch out for ads that point to scam websites. Con artists often create lookalike websites that, at first glance, appear to belong to a trusted retailer. But when you look more closely at the URL, you’ll notice that the domain name is slightly different (i.e., Instead of Popularstore.com, the URL might be PopvlarStore.com or PopularStoreOnline.com).
“Check the age of that domain. there are ways that you can see when that website was created, so that’s a good way to spot an illegitimate website,” Bach warned. “Use your gut. If it looks like they’re selling one of those highly sought after items at a great deal that seems too good to be true, there’s probably something wrong with that, and it’s not a legitimate site.”
She also says it’s best to pay with a credit card for online purchases, as those companies will allow you to contest any shady activity.
“If the item doesn’t arrive or if it’s not as described or comes broken, you can file a dispute with the credit card company and end up not paying for that item,” Bach said.
More information about smart online shopping tips can be found at BBB.org.
