CROMWELL, CT — Amazon Prime Day, which will take place this Tuesday and Wednesday, has become a summer event, spurring other retailers to advertise deals of their own this week.
Phishing scams increase during busy shopping times. 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.
Scams to look out for:
Look out for unsolicited emails, texts, or phone calls. 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 ruse is meant to get your credit card information, account login details, or remote access to your computer.
Beware of false advertising and phony websites. 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).
Always make sure websites use the correct business name spelling and have legitimate contact information and customer service numbers. Also, use common sense when evaluating deals. If a company claims to be selling the hottest item of the year at a super low price, it’s probably a con.
