Legally Speaking by Cassandra Savoy, Esq. OP/ED
Since the pandemic, all of us have shopped online. . .a lot! Indeed, at one point, I was on a first-name basis with the guy from Amazon, the lady from Instacart, and the U.S. postman as I received a package almost every day and certainly without exaggeration four deliveries per week.
There is nearly nothing that you need that you can’t have delivered to your front door. We have become accustomed to the convenience of having “it” delivered. I for one have decided that I may never go to a mall again! While in some ways the pandemic created some delivery jobs, for others it has created an opportunity to steal so let he who orders online BEWARE!
Shopping Scams
These scams are based around companies that pretend they are selling you a product that they have no intention of sending you. Sometimes you get the invitation to purchase via social media or an e-mail. They offer high end merchandise as low prices. Often, they promise to send you a confirmation e-mail after you pay. They may direct you to a link where you input your credit card information, then the confirmation e-mail nor the merchandise ever arrive.
If you are looking at merchandise on a website that you don’t know, do your homework before you complete the payment part of the order.
(1) Check for reviews of the website. I don’t mean read the reviews on the seller’s site but google the site and look for reviews external to the site.
(2) See if these products are being sold elsewhere and if the prices are comparable. Prices vary, but they are in a range. One firm is not going to sell an item at $25 and the next three or four firms sell the same item for $125 – $130.
(3) Try calling the company to speak to someone. If you cannot reach a person, raise the red flag! If you can’t reach someone before you buy, good luck with reaching them after they have your money and perhaps your credit card information as well.
There are other of other online scams that you should be on the lookout for. I don’t need to talk about the one where you get the e-mail that says “I have a zillion dollars that I need to get into the US.” “I just need your bank account information so that I can deposit the money into your account and for your kindness, I will give you $10,000” or some other sum. We all know not to give out our bank account numbers lest in less than an hour there will not be a dime left in the account. Indeed, the hope is that the account will not be overdrawn.
What prompted me to write this column is that my e-mail was hacked, and clients started calling me to ask if they could send me a check rather than pay online or to ask if there was a problem with the credit card as I already had their credit card information. While writing this article, I received an e-mail that said that my order from Amazon, # AMZ 00246 was being charged to the credit card attached to my account, but there was a problem. Please send the correct three-digit code on the card. This internet scam is called “phishing.” Phishing usually comes in the form of an e-mail is designed to look real. Like the one sent from my hacked e-mail, it often looks real. It is the fact that you may recognize or think you recognize the sender that makes it look credible so that you will give them your information.
Phishing e-mails come in a variety of forms. For example, some may tell you that you are at risk of immediate arrest by the IRS for failing to pay taxes. When I received this e-mail, I immediately responded with: “For what year(s)?” I have not heard from them since. In the first place, the IRS does not communicate via e-mail. The IRS sends a letter via the U.S. Postal Service. But, for those who panic without thinking, the idea is to get you to provide a credit card to which the fine can be charged.
If you provide a credit card number, I can assure you that you will be at your credit limit within ten minutes or less time. By the way, this scam works equally as well via the telephone. Another Phishing scam advises you that someone may have hacked your account, and they will ask you for your information so that they can protect you and keep you safe.
The goal of both the IRS scam and the “you’ve been hacked” scam is to frighten you into acting without thinking. Remember, you will not be able to cancel your credit card faster than they will max you out! Do no give in to the panic. There is no end to the many phishing scams so the best ways to protect yourself are:
Never give out any information over the phone on in an e-mail. (birthdays, social security numbers, pin number, bank account name or number, to name just some of the confidential information that is intended to remain confidential). There is a reason why the bank will not e-mail you a pin number but will send it in an envelope separate from the credit card. If the pin number were in an e-mail and your e-mail was hacked, well . . . you know the rest.
Change your passwords often. I usually change my passwords monthly and more often if I get an e-mail I suspect is phishing.
All of these scams work just as well via the telephone. If the scam occurs via telephone, ask questions. Ask to speak to a supervisor. Ask them when the order was placed. Scammers just want you to act; they are not prepared to talk you out of your money.
