HOUSTON—
Just because it's the holiday season, doesn't mean that the scam artists are going on vacation. In fact, many use Christmas as bait to hook you and your money.Top scams this season? Unbelievable online discounts for home services, gift discounts with free shipping and the classic work at home opportunities.
"It always relates to money and getting your information like Social Security [numbers], date of birth, those types of information where those individuals can open up a credit card or a line of credit in your name," said FBI special agent Mark Webster from the Houston cyber crimes office.
One of those even drags Santa Claus' name into the scheme. The secret Santa Scam is about stolen gifts. The bad guys find a sucker to work from home and unknowingly ship someone else's property around the world.
It doesn't end there though. The crooks then get the sucker to cash a counterfeit check and give them some of the money. Not only is the person a sucker, but then an unknowing accomplice for cashing a fake check.
"The likelihood of you making that kind of money, you have a better chance winning the lottery, or about the same chance of winning the lottery," Webster said.
The next scam involves secret information for a fee. For example, lists of auto auctions the government holds for seized cars. The only problem, the information is available online, for free. And how about this? Want an iPad or an iPhone on the cheap? Sure, we all do. But entering your bank account info, Social Security number and date of birth doesn't help the price come down in real life.
"That should be the first red flag, if you can buy a $400 phone hypothetically at $150 with free shipping," Webster advised.
If we can find any good news in all of this, cases of the famous foreign lottery email scam actually come down during the Christmas season. If you find one of these scams online or believe you're a victim, here is a link you can use to report it to the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.
Ever been a victim of a cyber crime? Email us.
