Holiday scams designed to empty your wallet this year
In the good old days, holiday precautions could be boiled down to three safeguards: avoid the malls on Christmas Eve, bundle up if you’re playing in the snow and don’t eat too many mashed potatoes.
That was really it. Everything else was gravy. Unless your neighbours were these guys, everyone pretty much played by the rules in December.
Of course, that was before people started turning into scumbags. Scumbags who, according to one source, love nothing more than to scam us during the most generous time of the year.
Forbes.com has labelled these holidays the “season to be wary,” warning consumers of the troublesome increase in festive schemes designed to sap us of our cash.
Holiday scams come in all shapes and sizes – fake gift cards and phony charities are two of the most common – but some recently reported frauds sink to diabolical new lows.
Consider last month’s killing of four cops in Washington state, just hours from the British Columbia border. You might have seen the story on the news, but you probably didn’t catch the depressing aftermath.
Once the case hit front pages everywhere, there were a flurry of bogus calls and solicitations for “donations” to the victims’ families, prompting even the Better Business Bureau to have to issue a formal warning.
Not scummy enough? Forbes also reports there’s a Faulty Cash Register scam run by store clerks out there looking to pocket your cash.
The con works like this: after a distracted customer has their order rung through, cashiers add a cash-back denomination (usually around $40) to the bill in the hopes the mark won’t catch on.
If they do – whoops, something’s faulty with the register. We’ll reimburse that right away. But if they don’t spot it, anyone not savvy enough to look over their receipt is out 40 big ones.
You can check out a full list of holiday scams here, but remember to keep an eye out this time of year, regardless.
Keep your credit card info private, make sure that charity is legit and be sure the Salvation Army logo isn’t drawn on with eyeliner before you toss a toonie in the bucket.
Because, you’ve seen what the Wet Bandits are capable of. You don’t want to support these masterminds this year.
By Jason Buckland, MSN Money
Posted by: Helga Schimmel | Dec 12, 2021 8:56:20 AM
Do you know of this scam? We have talked to more than 100 people and none were aware.
Last year we offered an industrial generator for sale in the Truck Trader. A deal was made over the phone for pickup and payment. We didn't want cash ($12,000) and asked for a certified cheque. Two weeks after depositing the cheque, we were called by the bank and told the cheque was fraudulent. "Everything on that cheque was fake." It looked and felt real, little bumps and all. The police has not been able to find the culprit(s).
It is getting scary out there and one gets very distrusting of anything and anybody.
H. Schimmel.