Experts warn shoppers to protect themselves this holiday season
- ReadyOC
- Nov 24, 2021
- 1 min read
BY GREG MELLEN, Behind the Badge
This year, as Black Friday online, Cyber Monday, and holiday online sales ramp up, consumers are warming up their fingers for some serious transacting. And wherever buyers travel in the e-verse, criminals are either close behind or already waiting.
In 2020, as consumers turned to the internet in record numbers to do their holiday shopping, criminals were also there in record numbers. And “cyber criminals took advantage of an opportunity to profit from our dependence on technology to go on an Internet crime spree,” the FBI reported in its 2020 Internet Crime Report.
The 2020 Internet Crime Report found 791,790 complaints of suspected Internet crime, an increase of more than 300,000 complaints (about 69 percent) from 2019.
This year, the FBI is on pace to receive more than 1 million complaints, according to Unit Chief Donna Gregory of the FBI’s Cyber Division.
Although about 82 percent of the attempted crimes failed, losses from successful crimes exceeded $4.2 billion, and $1.8 billion (about 43 percent) was from unsuspecting older shoppers.
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This is such an important reminder, especially with new tricks popping up every year. Staying a few steps ahead of scammers is the best gift we can give ourselves. For anyone wanting a really thorough, up-to-date look at the latest tactics, it's worth doing a search for scams 2026 and checking reputable consumer protection websites. A little bit of knowledge goes a long way in keeping your holidays safe and relaxing.