How not to get scammed for holidays — or any time of the year

Caption

FBI special agent Daniel Polk spoke with GPB's Orlando Montoya about avoiding holiday scams.

Credit: Marylynn Ryan / GPB Photo

State and federal officials are joining consumer watchdogs in encouraging people to shop safely this holiday season.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger both issued alerts recently warning Georgians about holiday scams.

The Better Business Bureau also published a list — The "12 Scams" of the holidays — which plays on the seasonal song "The 12 Days of Christmas."

But FBI Atlanta Division special agent Daniel Polk said scammers don't take days off. Here he speaks to GPB's Orlando Montoya about the problem.

TRANSCRIPT

Orlando Montoya: This is All Things Considered on GPB. I'm Orlando Montoya. State officials are encouraging consumers to shop safely this holiday season. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger both issued alerts recently warning Georgians about holiday scams. And here to talk about the federal response to those scams is FBI Atlanta Division Special Agent Daniel Polk. Welcome to GPB! 

Daniel Polk: Thank you for having me. 

Orlando Montoya: The Better Business Bureau recently published a list, the 12 Scams of Christmas, playing on the 12 days of Christmas. But scammers don't take a day off. What kind of scams should people watch out for, especially around the holidays? 

Daniel Polk: You're right, they don't take any days off. It is a $50 billion industry year over year. And what we do see is some seasonality to this. So when we think about the holidays, there's obviously a lot of shopping. My mom, just the other day, was on Instagram. She saw an ad for a dress that she really wanted from a brand that she trusted. Looked like the dress was 80% off. She tapped that ad in Instagram right there on her feed. Took her to what looked like a legitimate site right there in the app, connected her PayPal, money was gone, dress never shows. And what we're seeing is over the holidays, scammers recognize that we're all trying to buy these gifts. We're seeing a lot of paid, promoted ads that are malicious — designed to entice you to give that credit card information but it is in fact designed to steal from you. 

Orlando Montoya: People's bank accounts are tied to their credit cards. What are the best ways to keep those safe, and what should you do if you realize you've fallen for one of these scams?

Daniel Polk: So if you believe you've fallen for one of these scams, the first thing you need to do is go to ic3.gov. Think of that almost as 911. And "IC3" stands for the "Internet Crime Complaints Center." And if you go to ic3.gov, you're gonna be able to report what happened. And if you do that within about 48 hours to 72 hours — a tight window — we work with the banking sector to freeze those funds and get you your money back. If it's been some time since the money's left the door, still go ahead and report it, and we look to still build cases to go after these scammers. One resource we're putting out there is fbi.gov/holidaytalk. And it's a resource designed to give about a 10-minute video for you to have a conversation, specifically, with your parents and grandparents about scams this holiday season. So my hope is, is that we can start a new holiday tradition with our loved ones, and that's just: talk about scams. 

Orlando Montoya: Georgia secretary of state's office says in one recent case, a Georgia charity's email system was compromised and a scammer posed as its executive director, telling a staff member to purchase thousands of dollars in gift cards using the group's credit card before a vigilant cashier questioned the transaction and uncovered the fraud. Does that kind of case highlight the sophistication that scammers can present?

Daniel Polk: I think it highlights both the sophistication and the cruelty, Orlando. To be honest, when I think about the holidays, this is a time when we're really trying to be generous, philanthropic, kind, and scammers will recognize that and they prey upon our best instincts. What I'm alarmed by, outside of charities that are being attacked through their own types of phishing schemes, is I'm seeing what I would call the long con where, you know, parents and grandparents of ours will develop relationships, friendships that start casual and natural online with some of these scammers. But they believe they're talking to a soldier who's overseas and they end up giving — you know, trying to be helpful and kind to help that individual out who might be in need — when in fact they're giving away what turns out to be their life savings to somebody who's trying to scam them and prey upon the desire to be charitable. 

Orlando Montoya: That is FBI Atlanta Division Special Agent Daniel Polk. Thank you for coming to our studio.

Daniel Polk: Thank you for having me. 

For more from the FBI on holiday scams, click here. Polk's top tips for avoiding scams? Don't click on promoted online content, carefully analyze email addresses and do not give in to a sense of urgency from anyone asking for money.