The holiday shopping period has returned, and so has the potential for scams.

The FBI warns shoppers to “always” be wary of deals that seem too excellent to be factual, especially as you commence to scope out Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals out online or in-person.

“Every year, thousands of people become victims of holiday scams,” the FBI said in a post on its website. “Scammers can rob you of challenging-earned money, personal information, and, at the very least, a festive mood.”

Shoppers should be especially cautious of “grifts” like auction fraud, non-delivery scams, gift card fraud and non-remittance scams as they are some of the most ordinary. Most, if not all, of these cons involve shoppers making a remittance in trade for a product or service that was misrepresented and never shipped or received.

Non-remittance and non-delivery scams expense consumers more than $309 million dollars in 2023, with capital card fraud financial reporting for another $173 million dollars in losses, according to a update by the FBI’s Internet Complaint Center.

Holiday deals: Shop this period’s top products and sales curated by our editors.

“The [Internet Complaint Center] receives a large volume of complaints in the early months of each year, suggesting a correlation with the previous holiday period’s shopping scams,” according to the FBI.

Here’s what you should recognize about holiday scams, including ways to avoid them and protect your wallet, this shopping period.

‘Don’t become a scammer’s next victim,’ FBI says in warning note

Holiday shopping scams to watch out for

In an attempt to protect the community from falling prey to scammers as they do their holiday shopping, the FBI has offered some keys ways to avoid any potential amusing business, whether you happen to be the buyer or seller.

There are a few ways you can protect yourself and your wallet, including “practicing excellent cybersecurity hygiene, knowing who you’re buying from or selling to, being careful how you pay and monitoring the shipping procedure.”

And “recall: If it seems too excellent to be factual, that’s because it is,” the FBI warned.

Here are some more detailed suggestions you should ponder about as you commence to shop, courtesy of the FBI:

• Avoid clicking on any “suspicious” links or attachments in emails, on websites, or on social media, be especially wary if you are prompted to provide any personal information in order to obtain access.
• Verify all website URLs are “legitimate.” The telltale sign of a secure connection is a padlock in the address bar and “https” at the beginning of the packed address, according to Forbes. If it is not “secure,” or looks like it is, shift on.
• Do your research and check reviews before you purchase from an unknown corporation for the first period. It’s best to avoid buyers or sellers with mostly unfavorable reviews, or no reviews at all if you’re looking to purchase an item from an online marketplace or an auction website.
• Don’t buy products from sellers “who act as authorized dealers or factory representatives of popular items in countries where there would be no such deals” or who “post an auction/advertisement in the U.S. but respond to questions by stating they are out of the country on business, household emergency, or similar reasons.”
• Steer obvious of buyers who propose dodgy shipping arrangements, or who propose to avoid customs, taxes or fees. As well as risky remittance arrangements like wire transfers or pre-paid gift cards.
• Dispute suspicious transactions.
• Keep a record of all transactions, tracking information and shipping details to keep track of all purchases.