How Minnesotans Can Avoid Being Scammed This Holiday

I recently needed to hit an ATM, and the closest location was a Credit Union that I had never been to before. When I put my card in the message on the screen didn’t ask how much money I wanted, it told me that the transaction could not be completed. 

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A few minutes later, I got an email from my bank saying they would not process the request because they weren’t sure if that was me since I had never used that credit union for money before. 

I’m not going to lie, it was frustrating at the time, but later I was glad my bank had my back. It served as a good reminder that during the holiday season especially, there will be people out there trying to get their hands on your hard-earned money. 

I came across an article from AARP that says scammers will be working extra hard to get your money, after all they’ve got Christmas gifts to buy too. 

Unfortunately, scamming and swindling isn’t going away, that’s why AARP has their own Fraud Prevention Programs. The director, Kathy Stokes, offers these pieces of advice to keep you and your money safe this holiday. 

First, be careful with ads you see on social media platforms. Scammers are sophisticated enough to make it appear you are ordering from a legitimate site when in reality you aren’t. The number of people who already say this year they got fooled by these ads has gone up.  

It’s best to do a separate search for the company and find their customer service number. Then reach out to them to verify that the deal you think you’re getting is real.  

If you must order something online, the best suggestion is to use a credit card and not your bank debit card.  

Be leery of notifications from the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx or UPS. 56% of people who responded to an AARP survey of people 18 and older said they have gotten some sort of notification like this that turned out to be fake. 

I can’t go a single day without at least 3 or 4 of these types of emails in my inbox. I never click on them, but they keep sending them. 

Be aware of when the packages you’ve ordered online will be coming in. 25% of the folks who checked in on this survey had a package stolen from their property. 

Another area that seems to be having more folks scammed each year is booking trips or hotel stays. Make sure the arrangements you are trying to make are with a legit company.  

With people having to buy gifts and possibly travel too, the risk of not paying close enough attention goes up dramatically. The scammers are counting on us trying to check items off our to-do list and look deeper at booking trips or hotels.  

AARP says that websites or apps from Airbnb or VRBO are safe ways to find places to stay, and their websites are secure. 

Here’s a good rule of thumb as well, person to person payment apps like Cash App, Venmo and Zelle are designed to be used with people you know and trust. If an online company is asking for this form of payment, it’s worth doing some deeper research to make sure they’re the real deal.  

One other thing you can do to protect yourself is to update the software on your computer, phone or tablet.  

It's a busy time of the year but taking a few extra minutes when it comes to making these purchases could help prevent those who want to ruin your holiday from being able to do so.