Holiday shopping online? Be wary of predators

Now it’s prime time for online holiday shopping. With several weeks before the season arrives, items should arrive in time, sales are popping up and Canadians are happy to get some of the work done early.

While cozying up with a cup of hot cocoa and scrolling through your festive favourites sounds great, danger lurks in those digital corners.

Online holiday shopping can quickly take a turn for the worse thanks to scammers ready to pounce on eager gift-givers. They take advantage of the holiday spirit and set up sophisticated operations to swindle hardworking Manitobans. For example, fake sites with professional photos, positive reviews and great sale prices on the Labubus your child desperately wants may be all smoke and mirrors. Consumers have reported getting knock-off fluff balls or nothing at all after placing orders on these real-looking sites. The experience leaves shoppers devastated, without the product they wanted and out the hard-earned cash they spent. Those on tight budgets can find themselves especially depressed, as they often don’t have the money to buy a replacement gift.

This is why it’s important to take precautions when buying online. The best way to ensure a product is what you want it to be is to shop in person. Locally owned businesses often offer unique and special holiday items, and you can hold and inspect them before buying. Search businesses on bbb.org to find third-party monitored reviews of local businesses.

If you are shopping online, be sure the site you’re on begins with “https” or includes a small lock icon at the beginning of its URL. Unsecured websites are a red flag. Next, double-check the URL itself. The site you’re on may be trying to mimic a well-known retailer by adding a single letter or number or extension to its URL. For example, the retailer’s site may be “winnipegcandles.com” but the scammer has created a similar site at “winnipegcandles.wpg.com”

Shopping onlt with trusted retailers the best way to ensure your safety online. If you’ve never heard of a company, be sure to research it outside the site itself. Or use a trusted third-party app such as Etsy and review its policy on complaints and returns to ensure you have recourse if you don’t get the product you expected.

Social media plays a big role in scams. Your algorithm makes it very easy for scammers to find you and put a product in front of you that you really want. The issue is that scammers can operate just like real businesses on popular social media sites, setting up wonderful looking advertisements that come into your feed. If you trust the social media site, you may trust the ad, click on it and buy something without taking the time to see what it’s all about. Remember to always click out of the direct link between your app and checkout to research the company and ensure the site you’re on is that company’s real platform.

With scams spreading like holiday cheer, take the extra time to ensure your holiday shopping experience is as festive and lovely as your cup of hot cocoa.