Americans are being warned to beware of scammers stealing their personal information during online shopping sprees, just as millions prepare to logon to buy Christmas presents this month.
The countdown to the holidays is well underway off the back of Thanksgiving, and millions of shoppers have already bought goods online during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Yet millions more dollars are still set to be spent in the U.S. as consumers shop for gifts for the various upcoming holidays, including Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa.
Financial experts have long warned that busy times of the year for online shopping are particularly likely to see an increased threat from scammers trying to siphon off funds for themselves.
Last week, online safety experts warned fake websites set up by cybercriminals were targeting shoppers. Online “phishing”—attempts to obtain sensitive information through trickery—is another threat. Chase Bank recently released a series of tips for how to avoid being fooled.
And now the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is also warning online shoppers how to protect their personal information—and their money—with an annual safety drive that kicked off on Cyber Monday.
Getty Images
In an announcement to launch the ninth National Tax Security Awareness Week, the IRS said it wanted “taxpayers to approach their holiday shopping with extra caution because scammers are also shopping—for their next victim’s personal information.”
“The holiday shopping season and the fast-approaching tax season create a tempting target for identity thieves and scam artists,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel.
“Taxpayers should use extra caution this holiday season to protect their valuable personal and financial information, whether shopping online or clicking on links in email and other messages. A little extra caution can protect taxpayers’ confidential information and reduce the risk of identity theft in the upcoming filing season.”
IRS experts report “abundant scams and rip-offs,” including “ever-evolving and increasingly…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Newsweek…