Christmas time is a festive time that unfortunately brings out the worst in scammers who become relentless during the holidays. Carbon County Sheriff Jeff Wood stopped into the Castle Country Radio Stations to talk about how community members can protect themselves.

“I call it the Twelve Scams of Christmas, so the one to look for is a look-alike website. So many consumers will see an increase in the number of email alerts announcing deals, gifts and sales,” stated Wood. “While mailers can look legitimate, the links can lead to look alike websites meant to trick you into entering private information or give scammers an opportunity to download malware onto your computer.” Individuals should review the sender’s address, look for any misspellings throughout email and hover over links without clicking to see if they are rerouted. One thing that can be very helpful is to ensure that the website is secure by looking at the address which should begin with “https” as the “s” specifies that the website is secure and information entered is encrypted. If it doesn’t have this don’t use the link instead go directly to the website itself rather than through a false link.

Another thing that has made its way around social media is a holiday gift exchange such as the Secret Sister requests. “Purchasing one gift and receiving several in return may sound like a harmless way to give and receive presents but it is a scam and it’s a pyramid scheme and it’s actually illegal,” said Wood.

The Grandparent Scam has made its way to our area a few times over the years. This is where senior citizens are targeted to send large amounts of cash immediately because they received an email stating that a loved one is in trouble whether that incarceration or in the hospital. If an individual receives this type of email their best bet is to verify with the loved one in question or with the facility that is being listed in the email.

Be very careful when it comes to ecards, free gift cards and any holiday jobs that seem too good to be true. Some Ecards if opened or downloaded could put a virus on a computer, while free gift cards are nice its generally a phishing attempt for personal information as well as holiday jobs who want the same type of information but also could require the applicant to purchase equipment or software upfront to obtain the job. “Got to keep your eyes open for the scams and make sure you are taking time to enjoy family and friends during the holidays and enjoy the moment because it doesn’t last,” said Wood.

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