Experts say watch out for scams and fraud during the holidays

Experts advise using additional caution during the holidays as scams and frauds spike while shoppers have their guards down.

Every year, Canadians lose hundreds of millions of dollars to scammers, but experts say there is a spike in these crimes during the holidays when people can be hurried, distracted and vulnerable.

Cybersecurity expert Terry Cutler says fraudsters target shoppers when their guard is down.

“Because they [shoppers] want to get things done quickly,” he said. “They’ll just click on stuff they’re not supposed to and get caught up in a scam unfortunately.”

Cutler says that fraudsters use fake websites to lure bargain hunters, and they tamper with gift cards.

“They’re going to put a sticker or a barcode on top of the original barcode, which links to a master gift card that the scammers paid for,” he said. “So when you go to the cash and then activate it, you put a $50 on it. That $50 just got transferred to the scammers’ master card, and then it gets drained almost immediately.”

Cutler says that recent data breaches have been a gift for criminals, giving them access to names, addresses and passwords.

It’s information that can be used to impersonate a bank.

“It’s designed to lower your guard,” said Cutler.

He says never to trust call display and adds that banks will never ask for passwords or one-time codes over the phone. He recommends changing passwords and enabling two-factor authentication and alerts on your phone.

In addition, if someone is demanding urgent action or for you to click on links to verify accounts, it may be a phishing scam.

“Whenever they’re asking for payments in gift cards, that’s your ultimate red flag, that this is a scam,” said Cutler.

Social media is another place where scams abound.

“A lot of people could be lonely and get loved bombed by social media,” said Cutler.

Cutler said that even he has been involved in a romance scam.

“A fraudster used a photo of me and my kids to generate a Facebook dating profile and scammed the woman of $60,000,” he said.

As fraudsters evolve, Cutler says it’s important to stay on top of the latest scams, and there are online tools to protect yourself.

“It really comes down to awareness,” he said.