Carson City Sheriff’s Office discusses Holiday Seasonal Fraud safety tips
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Fri, 10/13/2023 - 10:52am
With the holiday season quickly approaching, the Carson City Sheriff’s Office wants to remind everyone to be wary of deals that seem too good to be true and how to avoid becoming a scammer’s next victim. Following are several tips to practice while making online purchases for gifts this year.
• Practice Safe Cybersecurity.
o Do not click any suspicious links or attachments in emails, text messages, websites, or social media. Phishing scams and similar crimes get you to click on links and give up your personal information, like your name, password, and bank account number. In some cases, you may unknowingly download malware to your device.
o Carefully examine the email address, URL, and spelling used in any correspondence. Scammers use slight differences to trick your eye and gain your trust.
o Do not give anyone remote access to your electronic devices.
• Know Who You’re Buying From.
o Check each website's URL to make sure it is legitimate and secure. A site you’re buying from should have https in the web address. If it doesn’t, do not enter your information on that site.
• Be Careful How You Pay.
o Never wire or mail money directly to a seller.
o Do not pay for items with pre-paid gift cards. A seller will ask you to send them a gift card number and PIN in these scams. Instead of using that gift card for your payment, the scammer will steal the funds, and you will never receive your item.
o Avoid making purchases from websites or third-party sellers who request alternate methods of payments that you are not familiar with.
o When using Apple Cash, you should send and receive money only with people that you know.
• If You’ve Been Scammed.
o Call your credit card or financial institution and dispute any suspicious charges.
o Contact the Carson City Sheriff’s Office.
o Report the scam to the Federal Bureau of Investigations’ Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at https://www.ic3.gov/
Anyone with questions or is interested in scheduling a public presentation regarding fraud scams is encouraged to contact Detective Marquez with the Carson City Sheriff’s Office, Investigations Division at (775) 283-7855 or Carson City Dispatch non-emergency (775-) 887
2007.
