Don’t give away too much this holiday season: BBB

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – It’s almost the most wonderful time of the year which means you’ll likely notice more scams popping up to take advantage of your holiday cheer.

As we inch closer to Christmas, generosity tends to take over as people are more keen to not only open their heart, but to open their wallet — but there are downfalls associated with that. Once again this year, thieves will be out in full force as Canadians spend billions of dollars over the holiday season.

The Better Business Bureau says scammers know that people are more likely to spend and give more over the next several weeks than any other time of the year.

Evan Kelly with the BBB says the concerns don’t just impact those going to the mall, but folks who do most, if not all, their shopping online. “They click on some nefarious link and viruses and malware can be uploaded to your computer. And then you’re running the risk of people stealing your identity or stealing your contact list or uploading spyware and things like that.”

He has some advice if you plan on buying presents online. “You want to make sure anything you do online is through a reputable company. You want to make sure it’s got the ‘https’ and the lock icon in the URL.”

The BBB says if the deal you’re looking at is too good to be true, then it probably is. And if you’re looking to get a gift card make sure it’s from a store and that it hasn’t been tampered with.

He adds you need to do your research before giving to any charities and be wary of crowdfunding links that Kelly says tends to prey on people’s emotions.

The bureau says it also gets a lot of call of fake pet scams where people buy a cute puppy online, but it never shows up and they’re out of pocket hundreds of dollars.

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