BBB warns of holiday, package delivery scams

HOUSTON - The Better Business Bureau is warning you to watch out for holiday scams.

Many are infiltrating social media, such as ads for so-called holiday apps.

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"You think your child will get to watch Santa feed the reindeer, or light the menorah, or even give the list to Santa of the toys that they want. But free apps can load viruses onto our computers, and can lead to identity theft if it asks a lot of questions," said Jennifer Salazar with the Better Business Bureau.  

They say some scams appear on social media as gift exchanges.

"If I buy one gift card, I'll get ten gift cards. You won’t get any gift cards, so just be careful," she said.

Package delivery scams are running rampant. You'll get an email or text message that looks like it's from UPS, DHL, FedEx, saying your delivery has been suspended, or "We've been trying to reach you, please respond immediately."

"You might think you need to pay more money, because I got an email from the place I bought the gift, that I didn’t pay enough for shipping and handling. That’s always a red flag," said Salazar.

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You can hover your mouse over a web address to first see where it's really from.

"The link might put malware on your phone or on your device. A lot of times it’s not from the postal mail service or FedEx, it's from someone else," said Salazar.

The BBB says consumers are also getting phone calls, emails, and texts purporting to be from a bank, Amazon, PayPay, or Netflix, saying there's a problem with their account.

"But it’s not. They say to click the link, but they’re loading malware onto your computer or devices, or they’re looking for money. So again, just be cautious, verify it," she explained.

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The BBB says to also watch out for fake charity solicitations and offers of free gift cards, holiday jobs, and pets for sale that are looking to steal your money and personal information. If you receive a solicitation to donate to a charity, you can verify whether it's a legitimate organization on Give.org.    

To protect yourself from delivery scams, get the tracking number for your online orders so that you can verify them. If you receive an unexpected notice about a delivery, don't click on it. And anytime an offer wants payment by gift card, that's a red flag.

You can report and learn more about scams on the BBB's Scam Tracker.