12 Scams of Christmas: How fake delivery notices can steal your holiday cheer
NEW YORK (WABC) -- On the first day of Christmas you might be expecting a partridge in a pear tree, but 7 On Your Side has something a little different in store for you.
With all this holiday chaos, it's easy to fall for a scam trying to scrooge you out of your savings.
Our first Santa fraud in our 12 Scams of Christmas is the fake delivery notice.
When you order something online, you might get several emails or text messages about your order: confirming your order, telling you it shipped, saying it's out for delivery, notifying you about delivery.
The scammers know we are in an ordering frenzy right now and send bogus messages by email or text. The message might say that you missed a delivery attempt and ask you to click on a link to reschedule the delivery. Or it could say that your item is ready to ship but you need to update your shipping preferences. Some create a sense of urgency by saying if you don't respond right away, they'll return your package to the sender.
They want you to click on the link without thinking about it and enter your personal or financial information. But the site is fake-a look-alike of a real website-and it'll capture all the information you enter. Things like your usernames and passwords to your online banking, email, or social media accounts that scammers could use to steal your identity and open new accounts in your name.
What to do:
- If you get a message about an unexpected package delivery that tells you to click on a link for some reason, don't click.
- If you think the message might be legitimate, contact the shipping company using a phone number or website you know is real. Don't use the information in the message.
- If you think it could be about something you recently ordered, go to the site where you bought the item and look up the shipping and delivery status there.
Speaking of ordering, the deadlines are here to get those gifts to family and friends. Shipping deadlines dropped-are we going to pay more?
The increase in holiday shipping costs this year is due to temporary rate increases implemented by the USPS to help offset higher operational costs. These increases are expected to last until early January and are part of the USPS's strategy to manage the high-volume months of November and December.
If you delay, you will pay.
First, mark your calendar for Sunday, December 14. National Free Shipping Day in the U.S. is a one-day promotional event where thousands of online retailers promise to charge you only for what you actually purchase and offer free shipping, guaranteeing your items arrive by Christmas Eve.
When you shop online, check for promo codes offering free shipping so you can avoid adding $50 worth of items to your cart just to skip the shipping fee.
You can also avoid the fees by signing up for memberships with Amazon, Walmart, Apple, Target, Nordstrom, Barnes & Noble, Bloomingdale's, Best Buy, and Kohl's. Members have privileges that will score you free shipping with no minimums.
Another way to score free shipping is to look for promo codes before you pay for shipping and apply them at checkout. Also consider sending an e-gift-the ultimate last-minute present can simply be sent via email. They can include a gift card from a store, a restaurant, or a service, which can arrive in an inbox and won't cost a dime to send.
And remember, if you want to avoid the shipping headache, choose BOPIS: that's Buy Online, Pick Up In Store. You eliminate the middleman completely by picking up yourself or sending your loved one to a store in their area to pick up their gift directly!
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