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Gift Cards Are Prime Target For Holiday Scams

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The number of consumers using electronic devices to shop, buy and track items purchased online has grown each year.

e-commerce businesses have improved security measures, but scammers are also getting craftier as well.

State Consumer Protection spokesperson Jerad Albracht says one scam involves gift cards...

"...You may see offers for free gift cards or they're tied to taking holiday surveys of some sort. You could see them on social media, text messages or emails. We want people to be really leery of those types of things. In some situations the survey may be looking to harvest personal information. In other situations you may be clicking a link that is going to take you to a malicious website that will infect your computer. Anything gift card related is a ploy that the scammers will try to use...."

Another scam another scam that's used year 'round but is especially prevalent this time of year involves shipping...

"..In your junk email box, hopefully your junk email box you'll see messages from FEDEX, UPS, or USPS...they will say there's a problem with some shipment, ask you to open a link or attachment to find out more information. Those are some actions that will probably lead you to download some sort of malware..."

If you have questions about protecting your online purchases, go to the state website at datcp.wi.gov or go to the Consumer Protection hotline at 800-422-7128.

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