Holiday scams are here

By Patricia Nugent

The most wonderful time of the year is nearly here, bringing shopping lists, thoughtful gifts and, unfortunately, holiday scams.

Sue McConnell, president and CEO of the local Better Business Bureau, offers these helpful tips to spot red flags.

“With shopping online growing by leaps and bounds—up 32% from 2019 to 2020—there has been an increase in fraudulent websites that offer the most in-demand products of the season at low prices,” she says.

The first thing she tells consumers is to be wary of any site.

“We recommend checking the site’s domain registration details by going to whois.com and entering the site in question,” she says. “It will tell you if it’s a new site (red flag) and the country of origin (red flag if it’s a foreign country). Anytime you purchase something from a foreign country, you lose some of the protections you’d have buying domestically. You can also visit BBB.org to check out a company’s BBB rating if it’s within North America. And the site BBB.org/scamtracker lets people report companies that have scammed them.”

Another type of con prevalent around the holidays is the puppy scam.

“Sites will post adorable pictures of in-demand breeds such as French bulldogs or teacup Yorkies,” she explains. “They pop up when people search for breeders of these expensive dogs. The scam artists get people to wire them money as a down payment, then keep asking for more for things like a shipping crate. They keep asking for more money until you realize you’re never getting your puppy.”

The local Better Business Bureau is at 200 Treeworth Boulevard, in Broadview Heights. Its goal is to promote ethics, integrity, honesty and transparency in the marketplace. Each year the local nonprofit BBB awards college scholarships and sponsors fraud education for seniors and financial literacy classes for teens. Call 216-241-7678 or visit BBB.org/Cleveland for more information.