Steer clear from seasonal scams

RALEIGH -- To help prevent holiday and other seasonal-related scams, AARP North Carolina has a new on-demand “Winter Scam Jam” that highlights some of the most common scams to be aware of throughout the winter season. The 21-minute video features AARP Fraud Watch volunteers from across North Carolina providing tips on how to spot, prevent and report scams.

WATCH

According to AARP, “Scams have become a part of our everyday lives, unfortunately: Between the phishing emails and texts from people pretending to be government officials or online retailers needing your personal information and robocalls warning of money owed, it can be exhausting. And these criminals don’t rest during the season of goodwill. In fact, they seem to work even harder to perpetrate fraud, according to a new AARP Fraud Watch Network report.”

The AARP survey of 1,869 U.S. consumers age 18 and older, detailed in the report, “Holiday Fraud: Scammers Continue to Steal Holiday Cheer,” finds that in the past year 82 percent of U.S. consumers have experienced or been targeted by at least one form of the fraud that is rampant during the holidays, including requests from (often fake) charities, online shopping scams and fraudulent communications about delivery problems. About the same percentage of older adults (age 65 and up) report having experienced or been targeted by holiday-related scams last season (80 percent vs. 78 percent, respectively).

The survey included a fraud knowledge quiz (see questions below), where only 28 percent of respondents answered seven or more of the 10 true-or-false questions correctly.

“We see two important findings in this year’s survey,” says Kathy Stokes, director of fraud prevention programs at AARP. “One is that fraud is still rampant, and the other is that our knowledge of how to stay safe isn't improving.”

Highlights from the survey:

• Fifty-six percent of respondents have received a notification from someone saying they are from the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx or UPS about a shipment issue, and it turned out to be fraudulent. That’s up from 29 percent in 2022.​
• Twenty-five percent of respondents have had a package stolen from outside their doors.​
• Thirty-five percent received a donation request in the past year that seemed fraudulent.​
• Thirty-five percent have experienced fraud when trying to buy a product through an online ad.​
• Twelve percent of travelers experienced fraud when booking a trip.​
• More than 1 in 4 (29 percent) have given or received a gift card with no balance.​
• Most (90 percent) agree that lawmakers need to do more to protect consumers from fraud and scams.​

Gift cards are a favorite holiday item for giving and receiving, but they are also a favorite among fraud criminals. According to Stokes, “The survey found that 29 percent of consumers have either given or received a card with no value on it. While some of this could be error, much is likely low-tech in-store manipulation of cards or high-tech tracking of card values online and draining them.”

Stay in the know
To help people of all ages learn how to spot, prevent and report fraud in North Carolina, AARP also produces Fraud Wach Minutes that highlight the most prevalent scams and ways to stay safe. It also encourages people to join the free AARP Fraud Watch Network to receive watchdog alerts, assistance to those impacted by fraud and more.


AARP "Fraud Watch Minutes," are a great way to keep informed and share important fraud prevention tips with your family and friends.

Subscribe to AARP North Carolina's YouTube channel to get new Fraud Watch Minutes and sign up for free AARP Fraud Watchdog Alerts at www.aarp.org/fraud.

Other top targets of fraud
AARP also reminds people that veterans and military families remain top targets when it comes to scams and AARP has

The AARP Veterans Fraud Center and Operation Protect Veterans, a joint effort between AARP and the US Postal Inspection Service, provide a good line of defense to help prevent our military community from these criminal acts.

AARP information and fraud prevention resources can help keep you informed of the criminal's playbook. Remember, if you can spot a scam, you can stop a scam.