Scammers Set to Defraud this Holiday Season, FBI Warns!

This holiday season, New Mexican shoppers are at risk of facing scammers. Criminals are all set to exploit this holiday season. They are prepared to steal the personal information of the people and use it for their own benefit. 

FBI’s IC3-Internet Crime Complaint Center, New Mexicans have lost a total amount of USD 18 million in the past because of various scams. These scams range from phishing attacks and identity theft to shipping scams. 

“Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, more people than ever are expected to shop online this year. . . Unfortunately, that means more potential victims of holiday scams. The FBI urges consumers to be vigilant and protect themselves against criminals looking to make a quick buck.” James Langenberg, Special Agent in Charge of the Albuquerque FBI Division, said. 

FBI is working towards making the holiday season secure for the public as well as the retailers. One of the most common types of scams that can occur is an online shopping scam. Sites offering unrealistic sales are a way to get money out of people. Scammers sometimes get wire transfers from people which immediately gives criminals access to illegal funds. The identity of the person and their credit card information is also stolen through phishing attacks. Both, the victim of identity theft and the retailer, have to face the consequences of the shopping done by an identity thief. Money mules emails are sent to people that promise easy money with no effort. Through this, people are manipulated into transferring illegal funds. This can get them in trouble with the law and they can get charged with money laundering crime. 

FBI warns the people of such crimes and requests them to take cybersecurity seriously. Entities are asked to enhance their cybersecurity measures and people are warned to only shop on legitimate sites with good security measures.