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Audio Transcript

Mollie Halpern: During this holiday shopping season, the FBI warns consumers about online scams that could turn them into fraud victims.

The FBI is seeing a slight increase in the so-called “non-delivery” scam when compared to last year.

In this scam, cyber criminals lure shoppers with promises of discounts through pop-up ads, websites, and phishing e-mails.

Donna Gregory: You should never click on those links directly. What you should do is actually type those links into the browser.

Halpern: That was Donna Gregory of the Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3, who says that applies even if you know the retailer.

Victims of the scam buy an item online, then receive nothing in return but a compromised identity. Gregory says cyber criminals…

Gregory: …are looking for your personal information or your bank account information or your credit card information.

Halpern: The FBI advises consumers to be vigilant when shopping online, whether it’s during the holiday season or not.

Gregory: Look at your credit card statements, monitor your bank statements for any unauthorized charges.

Halpern: For more tips to protect yourself against online scams, visit www.ic3.gov. With FBI, This Week, I’m Mollie Halpern of the Bureau.

Related information:

Internet Crime Complaint Center