Online Holiday Shopping Scams
With more commerce occurring online this year, and with the holiday season upon us, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) reminds shoppers to remain vigilant. Be especially cautious of fraudulent sites spoofing reputable businesses, unsolicited emails purporting to be from charities, and unencrypted financial transactions.
If you believe you are a victim of a scam, consider the following actions.
- Report the incident to your local police, and file online reports at the Federal Trade Commission’s Report Fraud page and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) page.
- Watch for unexpected or unexplained charges to your account. If any appear, contact your financial institution immediately and close any accounts that may have been compromised. See CISA’s Preventing and Responding to Identity Theft Tip for more information.
- Change any passwords you might have revealed immediately. Avoid reusing passwords. See CISA’s Choosing and Protecting Passwords Tip for more information.
Lieutenant Ron Maugans
Cybercrimes Unit Supervisor
Charleston County Sheriff’s Office
3691 Leeds Ave
North Charleston, SC 29405
(843) 554-2205
