During the holidays, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection sees a few of the same scams popping up.
In 2024 consumers made over 380,000 reports to the FTC about online shopping. This includes over 5,000 reports from Wisconsin consumers.
Online shopping scams can include fake websites set up for holiday gifts, ones that sell you a different product than what’s in the description, or ones that never deliver the product in hopes that you forget about it or don’t want to deal with the return process.
Michelle Reinen is DATCP’s Administrator of Division of Trade and Consumer Protection. She says the biggest thing online shoppers need to ask themselves is “is this website safe?”
“To identify and avoid fake websites, consumers should never click links or ads found on social media or sent by a text, email, or direct message. Instead directly type in a trusted website address so they know they will land at a legitimate business,” said Reinen. “Then be skeptical of unusually low or too good to be true prices. Scammer use these low prices to lure shoppers into these websites, again, fake websites.”
Phishing scams that claim to be from major retailers or shipping companies are also popular this time of year, saying people need to confirm their personal details for a product to be delivered to or get their money back.
Identity thieves have also used holiday giveaways or sweepstakes, rebate promotions, or online quizzes to get people’s information.
“Some legitimate companies use these offers to attract customers and gather information, but scammers use them as well,” said Reinen. “We need to be sure that we are really thinking about the information we give away in these different programs and games and quizzes, so we're not giving away information that could put us at risk of identity theft.”
Other ways to protect your data include avoiding purchases on public WiFi networks, using credits cards to make online purchases, be skeptical of any site asking you to pay with cryptocurrencies, prepaid gift cards, or wire transfer.
People can report fraudulent websites or issues with orders that aren’t getting anywhere with the company.
Reinen asks people to share their scam stories.
“They may feel bad about what they've experienced, but share that story and help someone else in falling victim to any of the scams that are out there,” said Reinen.
For more information and consumer protection resources, or to file a complaint, visit DATCP’s Consumer Protection webpage at ConsumerProtection.wi.gov or contact the Consumer Protection Hotline at (800) 422-7128 or DATCPHotline@wisconsin.gov.
