Consumer Alert
If you’ve been keeping up with the news, you might have heard about a global chip shortage. Why does that matter to your holiday shopping? Well, a lot of things you might buy for the holidays, like toys, have chips in them, so the shortage means prices are going up, and items that have chips can be harder to find.
Scammers follow the headlines — and just like with the mask shortage, scammers will set up shop, “sell” what everyone is trying to buy — but not deliver. Here are some tips to avoid scams as you get ready for holiday shopping this season.
- Research sellers before you buy. Search online for the name of the seller and product, plus words like “complaint” and “scam.” And read reviews about the seller and their products, too.
- Feed your inner skeptic. This year’s “it” game? For a great price in mid-December? From a seller you’ve never heard of? See bullet #1.
- Compare products. Even with the chip shortage, shop around to make sure you’re getting the best deal. Comparison shop online, looking at prices, delivery dates, and even discounts or coupon codes.
- Pay by credit card. Paying by credit card gives you more rights to dispute the charge if something goes wrong. And if someone tells you to pay by wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or by mailing cash, stop and find another seller. That’s how scammers tell you to pay.
- Keep records. Save copies of your receipts and order confirmations from online orders. Hold onto them until you get what you ordered and know you won’t return things.
Spot a scam while holiday shopping? We want to hear about it. Report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Topics
4 Comments
Read Our Privacy Act Statement
It is your choice whether to submit a comment. If you do, you must create a user name, or we will not post your comment. The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes this information collection for purposes of managing online comments. Comments and user names are part of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) public records system, and user names also are part of the FTC’s computer user records system. We may routinely use these records as described in the FTC’s Privacy Act system notices. For more information on how the FTC handles information that we collect, please read our privacy policy.
Comment Policy
This is a moderated blog; we review all comments before they are posted. We expect participants to treat each other and the bloggers with respect. We will not post comments that do not comply with our commenting policy. We may edit comments to remove links to commercial websites or personal information before posting them.
We won’t post:
Comments submitted to this blog become part of the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of others, please do not include personal information. Also, do not use this blog to report fraud; instead, file a complaint.