Porch pirates and scammers on the hunt to ruin your holiday celebration – Crossville Chronicle

It never fails. Every month we have someone fall victim to cybercrime here in our beautiful community. It happens now on a regularly. These scammers are smart. They have skills of persuasion and are sometimes hard to detect. However, we must follow the basic rules of online safety and avoid being the victim of a crime that may cause not only a headache, stress and aggravation, but may cost thousands of dollars.

The holiday season is always a busy time for criminals. Whether it be Black Friday shopping or package theft, they are always on the job. With the impact of the global pandemic, more and more people are turning to online shopping. The usual way of getting those irresistible deals has changed. Amazon and other retailers will probably have their biggest year yet with online orders.

You may ask yourself, how will this affect me? Whether you participate or not in online shopping, you will more than likely get an email that looks like it comes from a legitimate source such as Amazon, Wal-Mart or another online retailer telling you your package may have been delayed. They may say there was a problem with your debit card or credit card or something to bait you into clicking a link. Once you click that link, it may be too late. You may have given a criminal access to your computer and they can see everything. Your banking information, credit card information, and all that confidential information you need to safeguard. They may even have you call a number and before you know it, you have given them your credit card information or even worse, your bank account information.

We have to beware. If you receive an email similar to this, do nothing. Delete it! Call the retailer yourself by looking up the legitimate number on your own, if you suspect there may be a problem with your order. Even if you think there is no way you can be scammed, trust me, it can happen. Always use a credit card for online orders. If you use your debit card and something happens, scammers may be able to wipe out your bank account. Most credit cards come with fraud protection for these type of scenarios. Long story short, believe no emails from retailers telling you there is a problem. Call the retailer if you suspect something is wrong with your order.

So now you have followed the steps of the safe online shopper and your package is set to arrive. The delivery service such as Fed-Ex or UPS or even the USPS lays the package on your porch.

Then what? Are you able to retrieve it once you receive notification it has been delivered? If not, you may be handing a thief a gift. Porch pirates are common in every area in America. They drive around and just look for an opportunity to steal something, especially packages from the front porch.

If you work full-time or cannot be at home, be sure to make arrangements for your package to be received safely. This may be having it delivered to a friends house or your place of work. If this is not possible and you live in Fairfield Glade, call the police department. We will retrieve your package, bring it to the station and lock it up until you can pick it up.

OK, you get home and there is package on your porch addressed to you. It may be clothing, electronics, or anything really. You check your credit card and sure enough, there is a charge to that store and the package is delivered, except you did not order it and it has your name on it.

This is common and this is a huge red flag. Check with your spouse to make sure, they did not order and if they didnt, cancel your credit card immediately and change all your online passwords.

This is a technique criminals use to see if they can get an order through and, if it works, you could have real issues. The next time they order it will be for a lot more money and they may have the package diverted mid-shipment. This is common and can be costly.

Finally remember, no legitimate business will ask you to send gift cards such as Google Play cards or Apple gift cards. This is 100% of the time a fraud.

Happy and safe shopping this holiday season!

We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story.

View post:
Porch pirates and scammers on the hunt to ruin your holiday celebration - Crossville Chronicle