{"id":29418,"date":"2024-11-25T08:44:24","date_gmt":"2024-11-25T13:44:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/?p=29418"},"modified":"2024-12-04T10:03:06","modified_gmt":"2024-12-04T15:03:06","slug":"holiday-scam-season-is-here-we-want-you-to-be-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/holiday-scam-season-is-here-we-want-you-to-be-safe\/","title":{"rendered":"Holiday Scam Season is Here: We Want You to Be Safe!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 24pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong>Holiday Scam Season is Here: We Want You to Be Safe!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">This week the holiday shopping season is underway and scammers are out there waiting. We&#8217;ve been doing this for a long time and it seems after every holiday season we get many of reports of people falling victim to holiday scams.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Those of you who have been with us for a while know that we care about you and do all we can to keep you informed so you will be safer on the internet. There are more scams now than ever before, the Christmas Holiday Shopping season brings the scammers are out in full force to take advantage of the Holiday spirit.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">We don\u2019t want you to be a victim of any kind of scam. Be it a tech support scam, a telephone scam, the Amazon package scam, a \u201cromance\u201d scam, or any of the other seemingly endless scams that are out there. And things are only going to get worse over the next few weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">The FBI has a very well-written and informative website describing many different types of scams including holiday scams. It\u2019s full of information to help you stay safe during the holiday season and all year long.\u00a0 <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fbi.gov\/how-we-can-help-you\/safety-resources\/scams-and-safety\/common-scams-and-crimes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Click this link<\/a><\/strong> to visit the FBI\u2019s scam warning site (the link will open in a new browser tab so you won\u2019t lose your place here).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Here&#8217;s a video from the FBI&#8230; please take a couple of minutes to watch it. The money you save may be your own!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Beware of Holiday Scams\" width=\"665\" height=\"374\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/z4jn0Xv-yzM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Also, we\u2019re featuring an article from<a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/money\/2024\/11\/22\/scammers-holiday-shopping-consumer-protection\/76337807007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> USA Today.<\/a>\u00a0 We want you to be safe. The more informed you are, the safer you&#8217;ll be this holiday season.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_hl\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 24pt;\">Don&#8217;t let fraudsters ruin your holidays. Protect yourself with these tips.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Consumers are <a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/money\/shopping\/2024\/10\/15\/holiday-shopping-forecast-2024\/75267869007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/money\/shopping\/2024\/10\/15\/holiday-shopping-forecast-2024\/75267869007\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|${u}\">expected to spend billions<\/a> this holiday season on gifts, including <a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation-world\/2024\/09\/26\/online-holiday-shopping-2024-rising\/75382171007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation-world\/2024\/09\/26\/online-holiday-shopping-2024-rising\/75382171007\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|${u}\">online.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">But with that comes<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/money\/2024\/11\/07\/scam-victims-1-trillion-losses\/75967565007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/money\/2024\/11\/07\/scam-victims-1-trillion-losses\/75967565007\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|${u}\"> scammers<\/a> who are looking for their piece of the pie, tricking consumers into fraudulent purchases or gaining access to their funds.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Fraudsters are hoping consumers are busy during the holiday season, which may lead them to put their guard down, Margarita Alvarez, senior vice president of consumer risk programs at Wells Fargo, told USA TODAY.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">&#8220;You also have scammers out there working to be able to capitalize on the higher volume of transactions that are occurring and that leads our customers to be more susceptible to these scams,&#8221; Alvarez said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_mt\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Consumers lose billions to scammers each year<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">A recent report from the Global Anti-Scam Alliance said<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/money\/2024\/11\/07\/scam-victims-1-trillion-losses\/75967565007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/money\/2024\/11\/07\/scam-victims-1-trillion-losses\/75967565007\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|${u}\"> scammers had bilked $1.03 trillion<\/a> from victims worldwide \u2013 a number the alliance said is probably actually larger since many scam victims are too embarrassed to report the crime.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">A February report from the Federal Trade Commission said U.S. consumers had <a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/news-events\/news\/press-releases\/2024\/02\/nationwide-fraud-losses-top-10-billion-2023-ftc-steps-efforts-protect-public\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/news-events\/news\/press-releases\/2024\/02\/nationwide-fraud-losses-top-10-billion-2023-ftc-steps-efforts-protect-public\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|${u}\">reported losing more than $10 billion<\/a> to fraud in 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">A new Better Business Bureau scam study update warns<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbb.org\/all\/holiday-hq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.bbb.org\/all\/holiday-hq\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|${u}\"> holiday shoppers to be on alert<\/a>, especially for fake advertisements that offer deep discounts and hard-to-find popular items. The BBB has had a 125% rise in scam reports, including scams via social media offering popular items like beauty products and viral tumbler mugs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">&#8220;Over 80% of reports to BBB indicated that they lost money, making online purchase scams one of the most common scams the public encounters,&#8221; the BBB said in a press release.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Then there&#8217;s theft of goods at delivery. A recent CNET report found more than $76 billion worth of packages could be vulnerable to porch theft this holiday season&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/money\/2024\/11\/22\/scammers-holiday-shopping-consumer-protection\/76337807007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Please read the rest of this article here.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">We wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving and a Safe and Happy Holiday Season!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Holiday Scam Season is Here: We Want You to Be Safe! This week the holiday shopping season is underway and scammers are out there waiting. We&#8217;ve been doing this for a long time and it seems after every holiday season we get many of reports of people falling victim to holiday scams. Those of you who have\u2026 <span class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/holiday-scam-season-is-here-we-want-you-to-be-safe\/\">Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2273,1678,1680],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29418"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29418"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29418\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29464,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29418\/revisions\/29464"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}