How you can thwart scammers and ‘porch pirates’ – INFORUM

Millions of people are shopping online this holiday season, and local law enforcement is warning the public of potential scams and theft.

Before clicking to buy anything, the Fargo Police Department recommends web shoppers verify that the sites they are using are legitimate. That includes fundraiser pages like GoFundMe. In addition to verifying that a website is secure, police suggest using a credit card for better protection against fraud.

The Federal Trade Commission also has a list of tips on how to avoid phishing scams.

More than 2 billion packages will be shipped now through the end of the year.

Items often arrive on doorsteps just days after they are ordered, and that provides another opportunity for thieves to target web shoppers.

Fargo police Public Information Officer Jessica Schindeldecker has some tips on how to thwart these thieves, often known as porch pirates. One is to keep an eye on package tracking numbers. You can also have packages sent to the post office, to a friend's house or even the office where you work.

Packages can be tracked on these websites:

Follow this link:
How you can thwart scammers and 'porch pirates' - INFORUM