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How to avoid the latest online shopping scams
One in five Americans lost about $840 per person in holiday scams, as AI tools increase fake ads and fraudulent sites, say FTC and FBI.
- This holiday season, the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation warned more than half of U.S. shoppers planning online purchases to watch for scams.
- Scammers are exploiting shoppers' holiday rush by using urgency and price appeal to catch holiday shoppers off guard and prompt quick, risky clicks through psychological tactics.
- Common schemes range from spoofed shipping messages to AI-generated fake stores and reviews, as order-confirmation scams mimic retailers, package-texting scams lure victims, and social-media shopping scams use generative AI and cloned sites this year.
- Text-Initiated scams caused $470 million in 2024 losses, and one in five Americans reports losing about $840 during past holiday seasons, with malware risking identity theft and extortion.
- To avoid fraud, the Federal Trade Commission recommends searching a seller plus 'scam' and checking trusted review sites before buying, while experts advise typing the vendor's URL and using tools like F‑Secure shopping tracker and McAfee Scam Detector with a virtual credit card.
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39 Articles
Coverage Details
Total News Sources39
Leaning Left4Leaning Right0Center31Last UpdatedBias Distribution89% Center
Bias Distribution
- 89% of the sources are Center
89% Center
11%
C 89%
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